Seeding Intention on Wintery Winds

Winter ~ Devas of Creation

It's a hot, late-summer day here, temps were warm enough for a tshirt on the ridge early in the morning which told me the day was going to be a warm one for these parts. Drawing this frosty scene feels like a balance to the warmth outside. It's the Deva of Winter signifying all the qualities inherent in winter, hardship, austerity, things gone to ground, spare beauty, living essentially, and making the best use of resources at hand to survive. I'm aware of how it's followed on the heels of the Sun Deva. There is a sword just barely visible in the hand of this Deva which is a nod to opportunities at hand if one is able to grasp them. This card's qualities remind me a little of the Death card in the Tarot.

Seven of Wind ~ Three of Wind ~ Tarot of the Spirit

How fitting then to draw two Air cards in relation to this Deva and one of them the Three of Air no less!

Seven of Wind, called Many Tongues, shows us seven split and twisted swords. Presumably these represent muddled thoughts with green, the color of the heart, appearing in the middle suggesting emotions are also muddled. It appears to be a big muddle all round lol. The two snakes are unable to understand each other, communication is compromised and confusion ensues. The white inverted triangle at the top of the card holds hope with its allusion to higher consciousness but that must be stretched by the seeker.

In the Three of Air we see lights and pencils as swords. To the left and right of the outer swords are damp butterflies which have just emerged from their cocoons and are drying their wings. This card is entitled Recognition. All three blades are rooted in a purplish red triangle suggesting will and passion are needed for those butterflies to take flight. The hilt of the sword contains all three blades indicating a unity of intention, the recognition that this is what will allow the transformation promised by the butterflies.

Tarot of the Spirit ~ Devas of Creation

Looking at this trio of cards I see the wintery Deva telling me that now is the time to allow those many tongues in the Seven to be still, to go to ground, which is to say to find their voice in the authenticity of the body. What would that energy feel like coiling and arguing and hissing as it moved up and down the spine, through the limbs? And yet there is hope of Recognition if I'm able to bear witness to the trajectory that wants a voice, that wings can unfold and transformation is always possible even when the ground, the body, finds itself in the grip of a sudden winter.

For reasons that aren't entirely clear I'm thoroughly uninspired by this draw. So much so that I decided to pull an oracle card to find out why that might be. Using The Enchanted Map Oracle by Collette Baron-Reid I drew this card entitled Intention

Intention ~ Enchanted Map Oracle

The feeling of expansion this card inspires is a key as to why the previous cards left me 'cold'. This card has warmth, it's spacious and holds obvious promise, a balance to the bleak austerity, the contraction and hard work of the previous cards. And it picks up on the theme of intention in the Three of Air. Today softness and promise feels better than hard work in austere conditions as I'm aware of the pressure of several projects looming and some work-related areas that are hovering beside me.

I love the image of this precious little barn owl, symbol of feminine wisdom and navigation by night, perched confidently atop a huge egg and holding a perfect, gone-to-seed dandelion in her beak the luminescent shape of which also echoes lunar energies. There are many more dandelions on the ground ready to be picked up and wished upon, intentions carried first by the breath and then the wind spreading far and wide. Beneath the cold, hard grip of winter and divisive voices things are seeding, gestating, awaiting both my attention and intention. The LWB suggests that the good intentions of others will inspire me to nourish and send out those of my own. Unfolding doesn't occur in isolation, we are each others' awakening.