Climbing into Manifestation

Medicine Woman Tarot ~ Carol Bridges

Today I've been given the medicine of Ace of Stones from The Medicine Woman Tarot by Carol Bridges. The deck comes with two blessing cards. The one on the left invokes the blessings of the four elements as well as the blessings of the sun and moon as way of opening a reading. It begins with the words, "Welcome, energies of earth, air, fire and water." Whether spoken silently or aloud this intentional declaration of hospitality towards the elemental energies resonates. The card on the right is a general invocation of the Spirit of Guidance. Again the first sentence stands out, Great Spirit, Mother Creator, bless the Earth through my life. This is quite an invitation, to experience one's life as a blessing on the earth. While I wouldn't necessarily use these prayers specifically I do like their inclusion in the deck, examples of seeding intention before reading the cards.

Ace of Stones ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

In this Ace of Stones a figure climbs into a cleft in the earth from the heavenly realms. The cleft is surrounded by rock out of which are carved the faces of the grandmothers, the ancestors. The figure is climbing through this dwelling of wise women, claiming her earthly place in the lineage. She climbs on a ladder made of wood beneath a brilliant, sunny sky. All is manifest.

The seeker wears teal-colored clothing, the marriage of blue and green, earth and sky, body and spirit. Above her two angelic hands appear from the celestial realms holding a huge, gleaming crystal. The light shines off it in two directions, above and below such that the crystal is the link between these two realms.

The seeker's task in this card is to integrate the gift of this resource into everyday life. The presence of the ancestral figures suggests that this needn't be done in isolation, but rather by drawing on the wisdom and experience of those who've gone before as well as from family and friends. Looking at the ladder the phrase, 'climbing the ladder to success' comes to mind but with a unique twist, the figure is climbing down, climbing into manifestation. Success as climbing into the immediacy of the body, into embodiment.

I appreciate the simplicity of this card appearing today. Another very early wake-up has me feeling quite tired and short on emotional bandwidth. I'm glad to see the Ace of this suit rather than, say, the Three or Eight. This Ace, today, feels like a gentle reminder to notice the immediacy of abundance surrounding me--our garden, our dogs, the complexity and intelligence of my body, the luxury of food and a home--refuge for my family, a place to retreat to with dreams, with fatigue, sadness, joy...All of these are gifts of the earthly realm, all of these are manifest worlds to climb into.