Reaching for the Stars Beneath My Feet

The Stars ~ Psycards

This starry image feels like a bit of needed energy today. It's grey and overcast, within and without. I'm also aware of the Supermoon that rises today. A Supermoon occurs when a new or full moon coincides with perigee--the moon's closest point to Earth in its orbit. It is in Pisces so this particular moon feels extra potent for me as my own moon is in this sign. The little verse for The Stars card says...

What is above is found below
Go where Heaven bids you to go

I like the poetry of this and it reminds me of the visualization I led folks in on The Star card during the retreat, a night skyscape within and without. The LWB goes on to say that this card pertains to three things; destiny, free will and reaching high. Stepping deftly around the semantic minefields of 'destiny' and 'free will' I'll focus instead on my own autonomy as it relates to aspiration and intention. Today the only reachings I feel capable of holding are prosaic, getting through the day without snapping at anyone, keeping my energy on an even keel and accomplishing some housework. Pretty basic and yet with the potential for growth if I draw on the affirmation and prayer associated with yesterday's Ace of Wands...I am transformed by even the ordinary events of my daily existence. May I embody each new day as the kindling of attention to what is unfolding. 

Sigh. This feels easier when the ordinary events have some kind of glow to them, the kind generated from within. But moving that sigh on to the Tarot...

The Emperor ~ Page of Cups ~ Hudes Tarot

These two regal male figures have graced my daily draw today with their messages of earth and water attunements.

The Emperor showed up earlier in the week with his partner, the Empress. Today he appears with perhaps an apprentice, the Page of Cups, who shows us how earth affects water, how the body affects emotions, how physical environment affects mood.



This feels spot on today as I navigate the way my own inner climate is determining how I approach my day. Or perhaps it's my sweet son approaching my currently afflicted Emperor-self lol. The Page seems to be looking to the organizing principles of the Emperor for guidance or perhaps offering his cup, a sense of flow, as a way of tempering the rigidity sometimes seen in those ruling principles. Less an actual person and more the ongoing relationship we have with this archetype, the Emperor leads by example with an eye to the greater good of his kingdom. As such I shall be looking to my own boundaries and decisions in my activities today and how they affect others, negatively or positively. And I sense the Stars shall be found on the path beneath my feet, those shining moments when good intention plants itself firmly as the ground of my being.

To Create One Spark

Ace of Wands ~ Hudes Tarot

Starting out with a Tarot card today because I drew a previously-drawn oracle card which I'm considering a sub-theme. I love this Ace of Wands for it's earthiness. The fire element associated with this suit is more subtle, seen in the sunny yellow flowers at each corner with their explosion of fireworks at the center of each blossom and a further fire reference in the golden tip on the Wand. This is the suit of risk-taking, of inspiration and creative fire, growth and transformation as well as the shadow side of all those qualities.

Like the spark that initiates the flames, this Ace ignites our passion and interest in burgeoning ideas and projects within. What am I on fire about these days? Mine feels more like a banked fire, one that is slowly, patiently being fed from quiet and sometimes invisible inspiration. In the LWB the author includes an affirmation and a prayer for every single card. There is a slight Christian slant to them but the language is spacious enough that other lineages or names could be substituted if preferred. I like her affirmation for the Ace of Wands because it echoes where I find myself these days...

I am transformed by even the ordinary events of my daily existence.

There is such wisdom here for if we can't experience transformation at this most basic and relevant level then its influence and authenticity remains unrealized. Of course fire has the ability to both transform and consume and the line between the two can be a fine one depending on one's intention and sense of equilibrium. I switched up the words a little in the prayer the author created so as to reflect my own attunement to and interface with the realm I like to call, larger than the small self...this prayer feels needed on a day that feels 'ho-hum'.

May I sustain the interest I feel by properly nourishing both my project and myself. May I embody each new day as the kindling of attention to what is unfolding.

Two of Swords ~ Hudes Tarot

My risk-taking and creativity might be needed in this card of holding the tension of opposites. This Two of Swords departs slightly from the traditional RWS version. There is no crescent moon, no blindfolded, seated figure, and no night sky all suggesting a resource other than logic and reason is needed.

Still there is the figure with her two crossed swords, one clenched in each hand. Her back is to the large body of water, the intuitive realm, and the sky, representing the mental realm, fills the background of the card considerably. Her expression is one of determination. Her grip suggests an almost somatic attachment to holding on to the opposing views represented by the crossed swords.

There is the sense of a decision needed to be made, a dualistic mode of thinking, the tension between reason seen in the sky and intuitive wisdom seen in the lovely green of the water. Her clothing is reminiscent of Justice yet she lacks the perspective and mastery that Justice does perhaps indicated by the lack of compassion as she turns her back on the elemental color associated with the heart.

Looking at these two together I feel my creative fire needs to step in and warm the cool, reason-based stasis seen here in the Two. What joy, enthusiasm, interest can be the magic that allows this woman to see that either/or isn't the way to approach things. What engagement can bring her out of the mental realm and into the inspirational realm of here and now. If I offer to take her hand will she put down one of her swords in acceptance of my friendship? I like this image, giving her the support of warmth, of connection as a way to step back from the black and white thinking that consumes her.

The Skills ~ Psycards

The Psycards suggest I draw on my skills to do this or, alternately, to see where the kind of skills needed for this are lacking. The LWB asks, "What resources do we bring that will help us out here?"

I'm aware that in all three of these cards a weapon is being depicted as a tool. Coming on the heels of the Warrior of the past two days I sense the need to bring some heat and some passion and some strength to ground the air realm I so easily inhabit. Along these lines the LWB goes on to say, "Lastly the card reminds us of the basic human need to constantly develop our own abilities and strengths so that we may fulfill our full potential..."

Sobering and inspiring words! Celtic poet and teacher, John O'Donohue, sums it up nicely in this excerpt from a poem entitled, For Courage. I like to think it presents the woman in the Two of Swords with the encouragement and inspiration she needs to set her swords aside and turn to face the great, green body of water behind her...


Close your eyes,
And gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.

That is all you need
To nourish the flame...

A new confidence will come alive
To urge you toward higher ground
Where your imagination
Will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!

The Dream of the Earth

The Warrior ~ Psycards

No, this isn't a repeat of yesterday's post, I drew this card again today. Not totally thrilled to see our friend show up two consecutive days running but apparently the universe seems to feel lessons in this area still need to be integrated. Ahem. Included with the pic above is the mala I used during my week of teaching. It broke after the last class, an auspicious happening that sometimes suggests lessons have been assimilated. Time will tell on that score but it seems fitting to place it beside this card of determination, courage, steadfastness and higher ideals, all of which I had to draw on that week. So I'm seeing this card as a reminder of the potential strength that can be called out of us when the moment arises.

Eight of Pentacles ~ Hudes Tarot

I've drawn the Earth all this week, including the day I drew the Empress and Emperor, and here we see the element again. The Eight of Pentacles which seems to have shown up on a number of blogs today. I like the feminine depiction in this card of one-pointed attention, craftswomanship and productivity. She's moved from contemplating her task in the Seven, which I drew earlier this week, to actually doing it and she is fully absorbed in the embodiment of it.

Her face is meditative and calm, she wields her tools with skill and the Pentacles behind her suggest not only that she's used to working hard but that their position in an arch above her head elevates her work into something exalted. They crown her.

The clear, blue sky behind her reminds me that it's good to look up every now and again for perspective and as a way to bring some spaciousness into the intensity of work. This is also a card that I associate with dedication to service, the sense of working within a container of higher/wider good.

What am I working on today? What tasks do I need to complete? Beyond the basic housework and overseeing of ds's practices and schoolwork I also have a class to attend this evening. If it works out it could be the beginning of a longer term study which might allow me to become the woman in this card, to undertake the development of mastery, of harnessing my productive energy. We shall see.

The Hanged Man ~ Hudes Tarot

The Hanged Man comes along to offer me a new perspective, a new way of looking at my work, at the fire I might bring to my tasks. I like the faces lined up on the tree, the sense of views/ideas and so forth literally coming out of the woodwork, revealing what was previously hidden from sight. The sky has become his earth, the earth has become his sky.

He's motionless, suspended between earth and sky, time and space. I often think of this card as the 'die before death' card coming, as it does, right before the Death card. The implications here are literally groundbreaking with new perspectives changing up our world entirely.

The vast blue sky behind him gives a feeling of spaciousness and makes me think of the Dzogchen practice of sky-gazing. Often when I draw this card I spend some time lying on the ground looking up at the sky or ceiling if I'm indoors. It's yielded some interesting results if I do it in relation to an issue I'm working with. I've already done this today and it was fruitful and yes, perspective-altering in a not altogether comfortable way.

Seen as a trimvirate perhaps a change in attitude is being asked of me today, time to bring the seemingly opposite qualities of steadfastness and inspiration to my tasks today. I want to add my son's unique interpretation which he offered as he walked by. Based on his observation of the appearance of the Warrior in yesterday's draw he saw the Warrior as progressing to the first stage of service in the form of Justice and today he sees the Warrior having reached a second level of attainment in the renunciation of previously held views as seen in The Hanged Man. The Warrior theme is key for him in a way it isn't for me. I like it!

Hudes Tarot ~ Psycards

One figure is sitting, one is standing and one is upside down. That's a lot of movement in these three cards, a progression of sorts. What do the tasks of the Eight look like from The Hanged Man's perspective, what does The Warrior look like from a reversed vantage point? Earthy perspectives to ponder today in this excerpt from John O'Donohue's poem, In Praise of the Earth...

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons...

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit and light.

Still The Inner Knowledge is Always There

The Warrior ~ Psycards

Today's draw had me looking at the layout a little differently. Usually I draw my oracle card first and then my two Tarot cards as a way to expand on the theme offered by the oracle. I did this today but the result had me focusing primarily on the first Tarot card I drew as the fulcrum of the draw.

This Warrior stands firmly and confidently on a small, grassy mound in full armor minus helmet. Behind him the kingdom stands surrounded by tents often used as meeting places during battle or festivals. The Warrior spirit feels alive and well within for this fire sign though this fellow is at rest rather than engaged in battle, his sword pointed downwards, its sharp tip softened by the moist earth. The LWB says of this card, The Warrior represents the hero who rescues us from difficulty and danger. The card stands for courage, for bold decisive action, for holding firm and fighting to the top. It stands for psychic as well as physical strength. The negative connotations are insensitivity and crudeness. To that I might add impulsiveness and narrowness of vision.

I'm not sure about 'fighting to the top' but the qualities of steadfastness and courage, of decisive action and strength are certainly areas to examine within, to see where the balance lies. Seeing this warrior's sword reminds me of Manjuhri's sword of discriminating wisdom...

"Manjusri's most dynamic attribute is his sword, the vajra sword of discriminating wisdom or insight. The sword cuts through ignorance and the entanglements of conceptual views. It cuts away ego and self-created obstacles. Sometimes the sword is in flames, which can represent light or transformation. It can cut things in two, but it can also cut into one, by cutting the self-other dichotomy. It is said the sword can both give and take life."

This gives quite a different sense of what it is to be a 'warrior'. Rather than locating oneself within a dualistic view of 'I and Thou' instead there is the sense of cutting through the various strata of confusion and emotion which are occluding the heart that is reaching towards an authenticity and equilibrium rooted in body and psyche.  With this sword theme so prevalent here how fitting that the first Tarot card I drew was Justice.

Justice ~Hudes Tarot

I seem to draw this card a lot and seeing it I'm never quite sure how I feel, ambivalent is usually the first feeling that comes to mind. This is quite a lovely depiction though, full of humanity and feeling, richness and yet maintaining the sense of clarity and unbiased view that this card implies.

Her sword rests at her heart stretching all the way down her central channel. I love this depiction for the message of embodied discrimination it suggests. Flanked by sumptuous green curtains, the color associated with the heart chakra, and with the golden scales resting in balance on the hilt of the sword, clothed in majestic purple and gold robes, the qualities of ruling with compassion and absolute integrity are palpably apparent. The clear sky behind her speaks to a spacious, unimpeded view.

There is an element of fire here seen in the colors used in the middle portion of her clothing. She has passion this Justice, passion for what is right and good and true and she rules from that place. The more I ponder this depiction of Justice the more I really like the way she's being portrayed and the more accessible she becomes. Perhaps it's because the element of humanity is pronounced. Though I don't necessarily associate Justice with the quality of yielding this depiction calls that out for me and I feel I'm being invited to explore the absence of that aspect of Justice in my own being.

King of Pentacles ~ Hudes Tarot

Enter the King of Pentacles. First are there any earthy,  mature men in my life? Yes, plenty. My dh is in an interesting blend of all four suits though I think he is predominantly a King of Cups. However his Pentacle side is good at helping me to keep my feet on the ground as well as talking me down from various inner insurgencies lol, a nod to the warrior aspect of today's spread.

In her book, 'The Tarot Court Cards', Kate Warwick-Smith describes the King of Pentacles with the words, power, instinct, physicality and matter. She has organized each court card with four distinct qualities--how they support, how they detract, their resources and their challenge. For the King of Pentacles she delineates these qualities like this...

Supporter :: Mentor
Detractor :: Miser
Resource :: Generosity
Challenge :: Greed

For me, looking at this King I see attainment in the physical realm as well as the earthly manifestation of his spiritual endeavors, he is a King afterall. He uses good judgement handling money, his resources and his kingdom. He is aware that work done with the right intention and atmosphere enhances the sacredness within and allows a flow from that source into the everyday. The Earth suit is the one I feel least polished in, the element I struggle most with so I definitely see this King here in the role of Mentor, as benevolent guide which is both encouraging and comforting. He is here to show me (rather then tell me) how it's done.

Hudes Tarot ~ Psycards

When I look at these three cards together I see Justice being asked to guide both the Warrior and the King. The King, wisely, looks directly to Justice for guidance, offering his resources in the form of a large Pentacle. The Warrior stands firm and, while it's hard to tell from the card, he is looking very slightly in the direction of Justice also. His face is somewhat worn suggesting he's acquired a certain measure of experience and wisdom and his clothing tells us he serves a higher good. Together these two aspects, the one who creates the earthly laws (King) and the one who carries them out (Warrior) are looking to an embodiment of discriminating wisdom (Justice) as to how to best serve. On an inner level I might see this as the ideal (King) and the actual (Warrior) trying to find a balance (Justice) that is realistic and embodied which could cover just about anything! Rilke named this dance so beautifully in a poem entitled, In the Asylum Garden. Reading it over I can sense all three of these cards today at work here in this poem...

The abandoned cloister still encloses 
the courtyard as if it were holy.
It remains a retreat from the world
For those who live there now.

Whatever could happen has already happened.
Now they are glad to walk the trusted paths
that draw them apart and bring them back together,
so simple and willing.

Some, on their knees beside the planted beds,
are absorbed by what they are tending.
When no one can see, there is
a secret little gesture they make.

To touch the tender early grass, shyly to caress it.
The green is friendly and needs protection
from the rose whose red can be too fierce

and can overpower once again
what they know in their hearts to be true.
Still the inner knowledge is always there:
how good the grass is and how soft.

If The Confident Animal

Today I feel a lack of inspiration. Sensing into this disengagement I drew my cards for the day and feeling less than inspired by what I drew I got to work with a bit of half-hearted analysis. Starting with the oracle card from Psycards...

The Skills ~ Psycards

Interestingly, on a day when I feel a real lack of skill in a few particular areas, I drew this card. The little quote that starts each card says of this one :

The arrows in your quiver tell

Go use your precious talents well

The LWB goes on to inform us that "the first question the Skills card asks of us is: what resources do we bring that will help us here?" Today I'm not seeing a lot of personal resources but I also recognize that there is an underlying quality beneath this 'not seeing' that is deliberate. I know I have many but today I seem to be more interested in the resources and skills I don't have. Sigh, such is the human condition and I'm in the thick of it today. 

The two Tarot cards I drew in response to this question of what areas might need the recognition and application of my skills and resources certainly aren't beating around the bush today. No Minors for me in this area but instead the slower, longer, life lessons characterized by the Majors. 

The Empress ~ The Emperor ~ Hudes Tarot

Together we have the Matriarch and the Patriarch of the whole deck. And in the right order! What does that say about my skills, inherent or nascent? I don't have too much bubbling up when I look at these cards together. At least nothing beyond the collaboration and marriage of creative abundance and reasoned authority. It feels like there's something deeper at work here, something just out of view. 

Susan Hudes's focus for the Empress is primarily on the body. She talks a lot about acceptance of its beauty and place within the natural world, of which we are an integral part. It's a slightly different take on the Empress with this emphasis on self-care at the physical level. This is an ongoing concentration for me, as I imagine it is for a lot of women. When I look at The Empress card often the question, 'how does your garden grow?' comes to mind. This can refer to my literal gardens--home, creativity, family etc--but also the various metaphorical gardens I'm tending within.

The Emperor looks to the greater good of his kingdom. Hudes speaks here of his domain in the secular world, seen in the map backdrop of the card.  His focus is larger than that of Kings and Queens, whose interests don't stray much beyond the borders of their principalities. The Emperor takes the large view, with universal order being one of his main foci. The order he brings to the moment helps to stabilize our day-to-day activities thus allowing us to carry out our responsibilities with...skill. Perhaps he is providing a safe container for the Empress to bloom and tend to the physical realm. I am, at least, aware of the various daily rhythms I've put in place that allow for some reflection on the state of my garden on days like this where things feel dry, untended and wanting the shade rather than the sun. These rhythms and sense of order create a container so that rather than being led hither and yon by the various competing emotions I have a place of stability to watch them rise and fall. In that sense this does feel like a collaboration between Empress and Emperor.

Hudes Tarot ~ Psycards

But on the whole I don't feel particularly inspired when I see this trio and as such I imagine I'm being asked to dig deeper than the temporal, to feel below the realm of the manifest though I can't summon the energy to do so. Looking at them all together for some reason this poem of Rilke's from the Eighth Duino Elegy called, If the Confident Animal, comes to mind. Perhaps it's the emphasis on natural, instinctive knowing, or the somatic wisdom we're so quick to dismiss, perhaps it's the arranging of the universe and one's animal place in it...whatever the reasons as I ponder the cards today it's what speaks to me, with the pronouns changed to bring an immediacy into my experience of it.

If the confident animal coming toward us

had a mind like ours,

the change in her would startle us.

But to her her own being is endless,

undefined, and without regard

for her condition: clear, like her eyes.

Where we see future,

she sees all, and herself

in all, made whole for always.

The Way You Almost Forget to Bloom

The Cave ~ Psycards

Well, I don't appear to have made it too far from yesterday, from the Prison to The Cave, though the underlying difference between these two is significant, that of choice. The Cave offers us the invitation to retreat for reflection, for the refuge of the womb of darkness, the kind of darkness that is restorative and whole-making. The teacher-friend I referenced last week who inspired my most recent zentangle once did a 40 day retreat in total darkness. Her descriptions of the experience are both fascinating and somatically disorienting.

In this instance the Cave represents a withdrawing from the outside world so that the seeds of newly emerging intention/self/vision can have the environment needed to germinate. A figure crouches in the fetal position, face to the earth inside a dark cave. From the opening of the cave streams bright light illuminating some of the features of the entrance and walls and only reaching the figure itself in the most diffuse of ways. The LWB tells us that "the Cave is the place to which we retreat to get our heads straight and devise a plan before re-engaging with a problem. It can represent the womb--protective, warm place of security we need to return to periodically to recharge and rebalance...it represents 'me-time' which we all crave in the hectic modern world". Seeing this card come up on a day full of various responsibilities and long commutes I'm inspired to find a place within that is dark, quiet and supportive. These days I find it most frequently in the hara center, breathing slowly and deliberately into the earth of my body, sometimes putting a sacred phrase onto the breath sometimes not. With this as my Cave what areas today might I invite in to that sacred space?

Ace of Pentacles ~ Knight of Cups ~ Hudes Tarot

The Tarot suggests the earth and water realms as places to embrace from the sanctity of the Cave. A double blessing of earth nourished and balanced by the flow of life-giving water. Says Rilke of the fig tree...

Like a fountain's channel your curving
branches
force the sap downward and up again; 

Ace of Pentacles ~ Hudes Tarot

This Ace of Pentacles gives such a feeling of the richness and abundance of the Earth realm with its many purple flowers, rich red-brown Pentacle, curling leaves and fertile backdrop of more foliage and blooms. This is the solid, grounded energy of the suit now accessible but as yet unmanifest. I feel its presence supports my own experience and interpretation of the inner Cave as being related to the earth center in my body for the Ace of this suit asks us to attend to the body, to the manifest.

I like to think of the Aces as gifts that are beautifully wrapped and presented to us with the question of how and where we want to use them. Today I shall be using this Ace in an esoteric way as I watch the relationship between my breath and the container that receives it.

Knight of Cups ~ Hudes Tarot

And how wonderful to see the Knight of Cups show up with his full cup to enliven the earth in me. If the emotions are located in the body then I'm in good hands with this Knight as my guide. With Knights representing the fire element in their development and this suit being one of water we have the image of heat being applied to water to produce either steam or boiling.

As such my knightly task could be seen as that of evaluating what my place is in relation to the element represented, in this case feelings, and how and where I want to apply it in the world. All the Knights wear armor which could be seen as a nod to protecting the physical body so the soul and psyche can further develop.

What first strikes me about this Knight is the size of his Cup, it's disproportionately larger than he is. It contains an ocean with the Southern Cross written across it as well as the word South and some maplines dotting its surface suggesting he journeys far and wide in the realms of the heart. He leads with his heart and perhaps an element of nostalgia as he's looking to the past. He's asking me where I might want to apply my intuition and emotion today and how I might lead from that place. I'm also aware of the Court cards representing actual people in our lives and while I have several Knights of Cups in my world I don't expect to interface with any of them today. So I shall maintain a focus on my inner developing skill of leading from the heart, from intuition as I go about my day.

Hudes Tarot ~ Psycards

All three cards together present an interesting approach. Having established my own inner Cave and feeling rooted there gives me the simultaneous opportunity of experiencing the Ace of Earth as a place of bodily strength within that needs the nourishment and cultivation of the breath and intention.  The Knight is gazing at the Ace with what looks like a wish to offer his cup to it, to offer the element of flow that earth needs in order not to get stuck in stasis and thus to flourish. Once again Rilke names so beautifully this necessary intermingling of the fluid with the earthy, the body with the heart, the manifest with the breath, in this poem entitled, The Fig Tree, from the Sixth Duino Elegy...

Fig tree, for how long now have I found meaning
in the way you almost forget to bloom
and drive without drama your pure mystery
into the young determined fruit.
Like a fountain's channel your curving branches
force the sap downward and up again; look,
it springs straight from sleep 
into its sweetest achievement--
like the god entering a swan...

The Blooming of One Flower

This week I'll be using the Hudes Tarot created by Susan Hudes and published by US Games combined with Psycards created by Maggie Kneen and Nick Hobson also published by US Games. Psycards are a set of forty cards inspired by the work of Carl Jung.

Prison ~ Psycards

When I showed this card to my husband his cheeky response was along the lines of, 'hmm, looks like some housecleaning is in store for you today' lol. It's true that the house does need attention and it's true that I often feel this work as, if not a prison, then as a sense of constriction at the very least. The LWB suggests, 'The first thing the Prison card asks us to do is examine our lives and see where it is that we're constricted. The second instruction is to examine how we got there.' Coming off a week of expansion and connection from the retreat I could easily feel the day-to-day work in front me as a restrictive but I'm more interested in who's below the sense of inner contraction I sometimes feel when looking at a day of seemingly mundane but necessary activities. Who is it that feels the limit of prosaic work?

Being away for ten days and steeped in an atmosphere of heart and meditation, sacred dance, connection and the natural world has given me just a little bit more space to see the nature of my earth-plane work as an integral part of the deeper alchemy the soul is involved in for the simple reason that the earth involves the body and the body is the palace that is refuge to the soul. If my body can relax into the tasks in front of me then the soul becomes intimately involved and transformation deepens on both levels. This short poem by Rilke from the Eighth Duino Elegy entitled, The Blooming of One Flower, sums it up beautifully...

Never, not for a single day, do we let
the space before us be so unbounded
that the blooming of one flower is forever.

With that possibility of each breath being an opportunity for a kind of co-creation of body, soul and moment into boundlessness I asked the Tarot cards what areas today needed the lens of expansion, needed a softening of restriction.

Temperance ~ Seven of Pentacles ~ Hudes Tarot

The healing angel and 'soul regeneration' come together here to light the way, both speaking of timing, rhythm, measure and sacred pause. Temperance is ruled by Sagittarius and looking at the two cards together I definitely feel a sense of appropriate timing, knowing just when to let loose one's intention. Healing that is nourished by  perspective and cultivation was the immediate thought that came to mind seeing these two cards together.

Temperance asks of us qualities of presence, of balance, literally tempering, an awareness of the part to the whole. The Angel is a balance point between the divine and the human realms, between sacred time and historical time. Her wings suggest healing involves transition between realms and her beauty implies this quality is a gift that will be instrumental in the process, divine beauty being brought into earthly manifestation.




A great Sufi saint once said, Power forces surrender, beauty inspires it. And what is healing but the body saying yes, kneeling to receive the opening flower of the moment. 

Temperance ~ Hudes Tarot

This lovely depiction of Temperance shows a beautiful angel bending over a clear pool of water adding her part (the liquid in the cup) to the whole (the pool). Seeing her reflection in the surface of the water I imagine her recognizing the part she plays in healing, her place within the balance of things. I'm asked to do the same here, as well as to look to any areas that feel out of balance in relation to a felt sense of equilibrium which is a key component of healing.

In the background we see a sun rising, another nod to the midpoint between extremes, neither full daylight nor dark of night, this scene takes place somewhere in between. The tree in the background speaks of life force and being able to dance and bend with the winds of change. There is something both expansive and intimate about this angel, her gaze is full of tenderness and presence, her wings strong and encompassing. She is earthy and otherworldly at the same time and has a feeling of immediacy that makes her accessible to me.

This card is sometimes called Art which I find intriguing, pointing as it does, to the redemptive power art has in our lives. It brings up images of mixing color and different materials to create something of beauty, something of meaning, something that speaks to the soul in a transformational way. Healing requires us to draw upon many areas of our lives, including the unconscious material suggested by the water, on memory and dream, self-reflection seen in the pool, the widening of awareness seen in the rings and their effects on the whole all the while allowing the flow between these to shape new possibilities, new worlds within and without. We are the midpoint that leans in, the still point between the breath.

Seven of Pentacles ~ Hudes Tarot

The card of soul regeneration, the Seven of Pentacles, belongs to the suit that deals with manifestation, physicality and the material world, our resources. If Wands represent the energy of our work, Pentacles represent the product of our work. Which brings me nicely, ahem, back to the task at hand, the mundane, earthly tasks being asked of me today.

I feel much like the fellow in this card, resting my chin on my hoe, which is to say, resting my attention on the tools of transformation. I feel a kinesthetic sense in my body when I experience the weight of his leaning, he's bringing his whole body to bear on that hoe, head and hands meeting together to form a solid interface at the heart with the handle of the hoe stretching downwards into the element being worked and transformed. He's reminding me that the roots of contemplation, of regeneration must be well established before such reflection upon one's labors can arise.

This is a card of evaluation and taking stock. The rich yellow color of his clothing and the abundant greenery also indicate his position is a potent one filled with the positivity of the sun and the fertility and abundance of the earth with the sky of perspective behind him if he's willing to look. His many Pentacles tell us he's a hard worker, a skilled worker. And when the two cards are taken together he seems to be looking to the healing angel with a quiet curiosity as if navigating his own place within the healing spectrum. And what of my own garden, how have I tended it, where does it need work, where does it need attention and care?

Hudes Tarot ~ Psycards

All three together feel like an invitation to frame the self that feels restricted with a different lens, one that suggests that healing might come in the form of taking stock, of noticing how plodding, mundane work actually serves a wider more exalted vision to do with the regeneration of the soul which lives so gratefully in our bodies. I feel I'm being asked to begin as Rilke suggests, by letting...

the space before us be so unbounded
that the blooming of one flower is forever.

Flow

On the second day of the retreat Water was the element we focused on using the Sufi rubric for the elements which moves from densest to most refined. As such the trajectory begins with Earth moves into Water then Fire then Air and finally Ether. Folks dropped in so deeply to the space and it was very humbling to witness the alchemy that arose. We took up the Water element through the pairing of The High Priestess and The Moon.

High Priestess ~ Spiral Tarot ~ Witches Tarot ~ Illuminati Tarot

We began by working with the breath associated with Water, first getting familiar with it and then walking/moving it. Water naturally flows downwards, pools, eddies and finds the path of least resistance. It's a very natural movement if the body is allowed the space to flow and folks found the movement easily within their own bodies. My husband and I shared our own impressions of the High Priestess as she appears in the Tarot which generated some great discussion. Next having given her a context I invited folks to feel into that oracular space within that both knows and resists interpretation and to focus on an area that was meaningful to them--the political situation, the environment, education, something close to the heart--and listen to what she might have to say.

We sat in silence for about five minutes or so as this sacred prophetic container allowing images, sounds, messages to surface in our bodies as the High Priestess. There is something quite palpable and powerful about a group of people sitting wordlessly together under the refined container of the Oracle. Afterwards some folks felt moved to share their experience while others were content to remain quiet. Either way an inner and outer dialogue had begun. Then I invited the class to move freely from that space, women and men walking the body of the HP. It was very moving to see how she manifested through each of us in an embodied way, to see her come off the card for a brief moment. Later feelings flowed as people shared how meaningful and important it was to be able to allow her body a voice in a culture that devalues that kind of wisdom.

The Moon ~ Illuminati Tarot ~ Kat Black's Golden Tarot ~ Spiral Tarot

It seemed a natural progression to take up The Moon next and the format was similar with some talk from both myself and my dh about The Moon, some discussion and then bringing an aspect of the Moon card that wanted a voice into the body. As with all the movement work we formed a large circle to create a temenos for the unfolding somatic experiences and folks stepped in when, if, and as they felt moved to do so. We had musical accompaniment with a Tar drum, guitar and sometimes a reed instrument. The music supported us on our journey throughout the week, carried us along with ease and friendship.

The Moon card found me crawling like the crab, emerging out of the waters of consciousness, head titled upwards in wonder at the glowing moon. Others took up their instinctive side as howls were heard throughout the room, and still others embodied the reflective light of the Moon in a refined breath. It was all pretty spectacular. The cards, when embodied this way, weren't asking so much for our understanding as they were for our presence and that gives one a whole different body of material to draw from.

So much meaning and deepening arose last week, much of it beyond words and as such I feel less inclined to blog about it than I originally did. I may post one more entry to do with the retreat but I'm also ready to dive back in to my daily draws with new breath and inspiration.

The Yoniverse

One of my dearest friends--wise woman, mother, grandmother and teacher, spoke last week of how 'down there' is actually and in reality 'down here'. Such a simple semantic shift and yet it brings us directly into the immediacy of presence, allowing the body to be a bridge across a kind of felt truth that resists form or interpretation but that language, by its very nature, tends to imbue with boundary, limit.  She suggested that reframing and renaming 'there' to 'here' would dramatically shift how we feel about ourselves, about that vital energy center from which so much life force flows. She dubbed it the Yoniverse. I was inspired...

~ Yoniverse ~

Good Where We've Been

Strength ~ Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso

The retreat ends today and we're heading home. My plate has been full with teaching, readings, connecting with old friends, walks in the woods and Sufi dancing. It's been a very enriching experience and my own understanding  of the cards has deepened as folks brought themselves so generously to the moment.

Midweek we took up the element of Fire after working with Earth and Water on the two previous days. We began with the Fire breath and walk as folks dropped into this creative, rising energy. I spoke about the Strength card and then led the class in a visualization that allowed some interface between beast and maiden energy. This unfolded into some beautifully genuine sharing from folks of how that energy was experienced by them, what it wanted, what it looked like.

From there we shifted into the somatic component moving this card from a 'Peace is Power' center. It was so meaningful to see people allowing their bodies to be enlivened by the relationship between the raw and the refined. With that kind of internal dialogue directing the body holding the tension of opposites becomes a lived experience of integration.

The Sun followed this leonine energy with its positive, shining outlook. There is a specific breath associated with the Sun and we began with this. I spoke about the Sun card and then we gave ourselves over to the free movement of the inner child, the one who's turned its back on limitation, the love-child of Mother Earth and Father Sun. Very jofully energizing!

The Sun ~ Crystal Visions Tarot ~ Jennifer Galasso

We concluded, as we did each class, with a two card draw for the day from the suit associated with the element we were working with, in this case Wands. The Seven and the Three are summed up with the question, what is it about the fear of success that is holding you back? The fear of success can be equally as paralyzing as the fear of failure. A great question to sit with.

Pamela-Coleman Smith Centennial Deck

There were so many amazing highlights throughout the week as folks brought themselves so fully to the experience. The cards came to life through the generosity and genuine heart each person showed up with. It was so clear to me as experiences were shared and digested that we are each other's awakening. I'll touch on some of the incredible highlights after we've returned home but in the meantime we're riding out on the currents of love, harmony and beauty singing as we go, "good where we've been, good where we're going to."

She Walks in Beauty

We arrived after two days of family time on the road and have now settled in. The gathering is at capacity with 220 attendees. I didn't think I'd have much opportunity or inclination to post on the blog but WiFi is mostly manageable here and my teaching schedule allows for down time. That may shift as the week progresses but I'm finding that writing here helps me organize my thoughts so I may pop in here once or twice through the week.

The Empress ~ Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso

The class my husband and I will be focusing is loosely titled, Tarot and the Elements from a Sufi Perspective. This evening all the teachers at this event were asked to offer a little taste of what they'll be sharing through the week. My dh had folks sit and led them in the Earth element breath for several minutes allowing an attunement to the Earth to build. Then I brought in the feminine and somatic component by working with The Empress. I spoke very briefly about The Empress and then from that Earth breath I had folks 'walk' The Empress, a walk that embodies both majesty and receptivity, beauty and fecundity, power and grace. 

It was wonderful to see so many embodiments of The Empress, women and men, moving through the room silently. And as folks dropped into this particular Tarot archetype I was very aware of the opening lines of Byron's poem...

She walks in beauty like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes.

And There Was A New Voice

Cacoxenite ~ New Beginnings ~ Crystal Reading Cards

We'll soon be on our way to the workshop and some visiting with friends along the way. Seeing this card appear this morning I felt its synchrony with the outer details of my life. I've not come across this crystal before and the LWB tells me it appears in variations of golds, browns and blacks and that it relates to the solar plexus and crown chakras. Whatever I might think about the latter it certainly feels relevant as those are internal energy centers I'll need to breathe from as I navigate this workshop--the intuitive and expansive crown center which allows me to touch into and draw from Spirit and the sunny, positive alchemical influences of the solar plexus which can help me digest the material transforming it into offerings to be shared. That this is framed within the lens of "New Beginnings" drives the point home. This is definitely a new incarnation for me, sharing Tarot material with 150 or so folks.

Cacoxenite ~ New Beginnings ~ Crystal Vision Cards

The LWB goes on to affirm that...As the old drops away, you may be feeling a range of different emotions such as fear, joy, excitement, anticipation and even a little sadness as you enter into this renewed time of transformation. Work closely with the Devas of Cacoxenite to release any unwanted fears or resistance and trust this is a sacred time of bringing new energy into your life.

Seeing all that affirming positivity makes me realize that I am still carrying an undercurrent of fear and ambivalence that I'm not up to the task. Perhaps I can lay that burden down for the moment and take this card's message at face value as best as I am able. The phrase 'trust this is a sacred time' helps to reframe the whole experience for me as less about an outer manifestation and more about a personal, inner experience. That makes the journey feel resonant and limitless.

Four of Swords ~ The Moon ~ Crystal Visions Taro

This lovely pair feels like a direct invitation to sink into a more intuitive state, to rest in the power of dream and intuition and let the mental constructs and worries fall away. Seeing them here following on the heels of New Beginnings is encouraging and my breath feels a little more expansive with their permission to feel my way through rather than think my way through.

The figure in the Four of Swords has her arms held tightly around her, the Moon goddess has arms open and receptive. This closing~opening movement feels just about right. I identify with both these body mudras in relation to the workshop. And I'm thinking I'll spend some time today simply allowing my arms and breath to contract and expand as I hold these two images in my mind.

Four of Swords ~ Crystal Visions Tarot

Here she lies, this Four of Swords maiden, giving her mental anguish a rest, taking some time to retreat and renew and yet she still holds on quite tightly to one sword with her right, active hand suggesting to me that her rest is not entirely that of complete surrender. I'm reminded to look to the hidden areas where I haven't relinquished the need to hold onto worn-out views, where my small self is still defending itself, for a sword is a weapon afterall. This woman is surrounded by clouds as she sleeps, blood-red petals spilling from the swords themselves mirroring her red dress, the color of will, of passion, of heat and action. So despite her rest there is alchemy occurring here, a lot of inner movement as thoughts shift, transform, dissolve and evaporate.

I, too, can rest when needed, can allow my own worries and anxiety a little break, allow them the opportunity to breathe a little.

The Moon ~ Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso

And what a supportive place to rest, to breathe and reorient to, The Moon, source of dreams, intution, the unconscious, soft lunar light requiring us to feel our way along the places where it's shadowy unlike yesterday's Sun where all is shiny and manifest.

The Moon beckons me to feel below the surface, to be aware of my subconscious and how that inner voice might sound. The two wolves flanking this lunar Goddess are encouragement to me to rely on my instinct. She reflects light rather than shining it directly and she stands before a liminal portal, doorway to the subconscious beneath which all the phases of the moon shine reminding me that my emotions, too, wax and wane, that they are changeable as am I, that nothing is static, written in stone. The field of moon flowers make me think of our dreams as night-blooming flowers waiting for us to bend and tend to them as soon as we give ourselves over to the night, to the dark, to the mystery.

Crystal Visions Tarot ~ Crystal Reading Cards

Looking at these three together and I arrive back at my original impulse, to begin my journey with the contradiction of rest and retreat in the receiving arms of the moon, which is to say allowing my mind to roam free of the need to pin things down, of the need to know and instead to feel my way, to draw inspiration from my dreams and intuition with the realization that all first steps and new beginnings, all dreams are seeded and start in the heart. On a practical level I shall make sure to create some space for solo time this week, to withdraw a little and rest and drift on the wings of dreams, inspiration and more.

I won't be posting for a bit but I'm wishing all of you a fruitful week full of your own new beginnings replete with time out and inspiration and the daring to dream widely and deeply. This excerpt from Mary Oliver's poem, The Journey, says it so eloquently...

But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Like a Red Flower Streaming

Rose Quartz ~ Inner Child ~ Crystal Reading Cards

Apparently the lessons of yesterday's Six of Cups ~ Self-Love ~ Queen of Swords triumvirate have wandered over to the present moment of today. Which feels kind of nourishing, actually, once I get past the ubiquitous intellectual cynic standing sentry at the doorway of my heart. Today I'm admitted into that palace with relative ease. Perhaps it's my amusement over the fact that of all the cards I could choose this is one sure to evoke a reaction in me lol. Humor can have such a disarming effect! The universe is having a bit of fun with Rose today ;) Okay, I'll play along since play comes naturally to all children, inner or outer.

Actually this is quite a topical card for today as I am revisiting, with a friend, some of those undeveloped areas that are in need of attention. I feel affirmed to see it here. And rose quartz is just plain lovely quite apart from any meaning it's been given. The LWB tells me...The inner child is a reflection of the child-like feelings and emotions that we have within that have been misunderstood and wounded...The Devas encourage you to reconnect to the magic and innocence of the child within and open to this aspect of yourself in your daily life. Breathe the soft, nurturing energy of Rose Quartz into your heart and feel it dissolve any old wounds connected to your inner child. 

Would that it were that one-dimensionally easy! But I can make a start at least and I place the card upon my heart simply feeling my breath moving in and out of my body as I hold the image of Rose Quartz in my mind. Spontaneity and joy, I could use more of, certainly and I was recently writing about this to a friend so seeing the word here in relation to inner child is an encouraging key as to why spontaneity feels at an ebb these days.

The Sun ~ Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso

What a lovely feeling to move from Inner Child to The Sun! And this Sun seems particularly relevant as the mother cradles her child beneath warm golden skies. Not an entirely traditional version and yet it's got all the elements in it that make a wonderful Sun card.

A mother stands dressed in colors of the sun tenderly holding her child in a field full of sunflowers whose faces shine with solar light. A wild colt looks on with playfulness and yet intimating the power and speed it will eventually embody. Monarch butterflies flutter around aspiring towards the light. The mother introduces her young child to the beauty of the natural world and one can only imagine the shared delight that this introduction evokes in both as she, too, is brought into a newness of vision through the eyes of her child full of innocence and wonder.

I like the feeling of connection that is present with all the figures in this card, human, animal, insect, plant. There is a feeling of outer mirroring inner. The sunflowers speak of the union between earth and sun, body and spirit and the flame of the mother's dress is like a lovely beacon of light leading up to the center of things, her baby cradled against her heart, the new consciousness that can develop when we allow the light to permeate the heart. All these feel palpably relevant in relation to working with my own nascent and undeveloped creatures within.

The High Priestess ~ Crystal Visions Tarot

And who better to guide me through this than the Queen of the liminal herself, The High Priestess. She calls to that part of us that stands at the portal of the mystery and the manifest calling forth from us an intuitive wisdom that simultaneously belies convention and reaches beyond it.

Here she stands upon a crescent moon, her feet firmly rooted in the realm of psychic, intuitive mastery. She holds an ankh scepter topped with a luminous globe in her left hand and in her right hand she holds a pomegranate.

The pomegranate is interesting to me as it relates to both the Inner Child card and the Sun card. In the Greek myth Persephone was abducted by Zeus and taken to Hades' Underworld. Her mother, Demeter, after roaming the earth looking for her finally appealed to the Sun god, Helios, to tell her Persephone's whereabouts which he did. Demeter, goddess of the harvest, then refused to let the crops grow until her daughter was returned to her. Seeing this Zeus finally relented and Hades permitted her to leave. The catch was that she could not have consumed anything during her time in the Underworld. Unfortunately she'd eaten six pomegranate seeds. As a result she was only allowed back to earth with the proviso that she spend three months below each year, the months of Winter when nothing grows.

Crystal Visions Tarot ~ Crystal Reading Cards

I normally don't focus on this myth so intently when The High Priestess card comes up for me but today it seems relevant in relation to the other two cards drawn. Persephone with her ability to navigate inner and outer realms is much like that part of me that can move between inner child and outer mother. With my own intuitive body engaged I can navigate some of this potentially treacherous and vulernable terrain where the inner child lives and plays. The butterflies in both of the Tarot cards speak of degrees of transformation and I feel them as migrating from the solar re-birth energy to quieter lunar metamorphic energy. Helios, embodied by the Sun card plays a role here, too, encouraging me to shine and be warmed by a somatic truth that emerges when the inner child steps out from the less visible realms beneath and lets limbs and breath expand with spontaneity and curiosity. I feel in good company with these cards, supported in my vision to 'play' a little today, to tend to the little one within. And I have made the aspiration to embrace at least one spontaneous impulse today. I wonder what it will be...

The Sun

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful

than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

~ Mary Oliver ~