Call and Response with Gaia

The other day as I was sensing into this space here I was aware of a feeling of stricture, of limit and constraint. I figured these feelings had their root and presence elsewhere in my life as well so I decided to ask the cards about it. I used the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert and a spread called the Gaian Spread created by James Wells. It's based on the idea of a reciprocal relationship with Gaia-- Earth Matriarch, Indwelling Immanence, the body itself. The card positions are as follows ::

Gaian Tarot ~ Joanna Powell Colbert

Card 1 ~ What does Gaia need from me at this time?
Card 2 ~ How can I offer this to Her?
Card 3 ~ What do I need from Gaia at this time?
Card 4 ~ How can I receive this from Her?

My question was something along the lines of how might I allow more flow with and access to sources of creativity and of intuition both here in this space and in the wider arenas of my life. The cards had this to say...

Five of Earth ~ Bindweed ~ The Moon ~ Ten of Water ~ Gaian Tarot

With two Majors out of a possible four appearing in this spread it's clear that I'm asking about an area which has some significance for my body-psyche. It certainly felt that way as I was ruminating on what has felt like stagnant energy and a general lack of inspiration in certain areas of my life recently.

Five of Earth ~ Gaian Tarot

The first card I drew was the Five of Earth, this in response to the question of what Gaia needs from me. A figure huddles in a shelter built of moss and sticks to wait out a storm. He looks cold and uncomfortable but he obviously has the skills necessary for survival given his building abilities. It's just a matter of waiting out the storm.

In relation to what Gaia needs from me the image of creating a 'shelter in the storm' comes to mind. The sense that She needs support in a very basic way, a way that tends to the comfort, warmth and safety of Her body which is to say my body. As that applies to me I sense that attending to my health is key. Making sure I am nourishing myself properly, getting enough sleep and exercise, water and fresh air, and attending to aches and pains appropriately.

As well this feels like gentle encouragement to cultivate the  time and space needed to nourish my inner garden. That this is what Gaia needs from me feels humbling for its simplicity, that what She wants from me has to do solely with my well-being. This feels like such a somatic expression of inter-dependence. And the next card, how I can offer this to Gaia, strikes a chord within...

Bindweed ~ Gaian Tarot

Traditionally Key 15 is entitled The Devil while here it is entitled Bindweed in reference to the way this lovely-looking plant runs rampant in a garden taking over other plants, curling around them until they wither and die due to a lack of sunlight.

A figure crouches in a position of despair, fear and overwhelm on the ground. Immobile is how he feels to me, but actively so. His hands over his head or ears suggest an unwillingness to hear or accept help. Bindweed grows plentifully around him and behind him starlings (another invasive species) chatter above, like the negative voices that are present in this emotional state, small and fierce like the shapes found in any hunger.

The themes for this card are traditionally along the line of addiction, depression, oppression, ignorance, power struggles, the unlived shadow and how that plays out in our lives and so forth. It is very moving to imagine that what Gaia wants from me are my difficulties, my limitations, and more importantly my identification with them. I have the sense that she'll be quite able to handle them and find a way to compost them in such a way that they'll be useful to the earth. The key lies in my offering them up. This kind of compassion from the universe is humbling.

As this is a Major I know I'll need to spend some time looking at what is out of balance, what gets too much of my time and attention, where I feel a lack of self-sufficiency and autonomy and what the integration of these themes might look like. Gaia doesn't ask for the frivolous, like any good mother she gets straight to the heart of things. This card relates, for me, to the Five of Earth and I feel I know what she is asking of me. Or put another way, what Soul is asking of Body. And in relation to my question it feels spot on as acknowledging the shadow releases tremendous creative energy that is then available to be used in powerfully transformative and meaningful ways.

The Moon ~ Gaian Tarot

The Moon is Gaia's response to the question of what I need from Her now and it addresses with astonishing accuracy the other part of my question about wanting to allow more flow and access to my intuitive body and indirectly my creative body. The Moon invites me to dip beneath the surface of the manifest and immerse myself in the hidden waters of dream, the psychic realm, navigation by night, feeling with my hands and my heart in that lunar, half-lit realm.

This is such lovely Moon card. A Wise Woman invokes the energies of the Full Moon. Around her spiral various lunar phases reminding me of how changeable my emotions are, ebbing and flowing with their own unique cycle. Behind the Wise Woman is a paleolithic carving of the Great Goddess of Laussel, which is said to be humankind's first calendar. I love that she's placing one hand on her belly, on her hara center, source of such power and mystery.

The wolf howling beside the Moon Goddes makes me think of giving voice to the instinctual body. And the owl, a particular favorite of mine, speaks of navigation by night, of feminine wisdom. There is even salmon leaping out of the waters and one of the associations with this creature in the Celtic tradition is poetic inspiration. Looking at those moon phases I'm wondering which phase I resonate most with and how I might embody this. Another Major means some time spent contemplating all of its various images and the larger themes it invites.

Ten of Water ~ Gaian Tarot

The final card is the Ten of Water. This card gives me guidance as to how I can receive the much-needed Gaia-gifts inherent in The Moon. My first hit before any linear and logical thoughts stepped in to analyze things was 'swim upstream.' It even feels like the salmon in the Moon card was giving me a glimpse of that before leaping over here.

Here we see salmon making their instinctive way back to their spawning ground to continue the cycle themselves by participating in it as adults. They swim against the current to get to this breeding ground. On a rock nearby lies a dead salmon whose cycle has completed itself after laying its eggs. Its body will become food for ravens and other creatures ensuring the ongoing cycle of life. Several salmon carcasses lie on the rocks having already been picked clean.

Swimming upstream involves effort, it involves risk and daring as well as faith in the process. Identities may be shed in the process and seeing the skeletons of the fish indicate to me that some of these identities may even feel foundational. The death that occurs at the end of this upstream journey allows for new selves to be born, new identities to be embodied thus ensuring the cycle of awakening continues.

Gaia ~ The World ~ Animals Divine Tarot ~ Lisa Hunt

I've gone on a journey with these cards, a journey that has revealed some resonant and articulate themes for me to work with. I have the sense of being heard, of being received by a deeper listening and Gaia's song to me has been generous, wise and practical. I sense that Her music will continue to echo through my body and guide me in the weeks and months to come.