The Earth that is Dreaming Us

Medicine Cards ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

Today I'm using Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams & David Carson combined with the Medicine Woman Tarot by Carol Bridges. After a busy weekend with lots of driving and various duties I was left feeling scattered and not able to settle. I didn't want to read, or zentangle, or write or look at Tarot decks (gasp!) or watch anything. I sat for awhile breathing into my hara center to feel the earth of my body a little more solidly and then I decided to pull some cards, to see what medicine was needed.

Lizard and The Grandfathers.

Lizards move from sun to shadow and back again when needed to regulate their body temperature. I loved to watch the geckos when we lived in Hawaii and when I was pregnant with my son I spent a good part of that first nauseous trimester lying in bed watching the Jackson's chameleons lazily climb the trees in the jungle outside our cabin. The LWB gives their medicine as 'Dreaming' and reflecting back on my encounters with these creatures I can feel that connection.

Lizard ~ Medicine Cards ~ Jamie Sams & David Carson

Says the LWB, Lizard is the medicine of dreamers...dreams illuminate the shadow. If Lizard dreamed a space in your cards today, it may be time to look and see what is following along behind you. Is it your fears, your future trying to catch up with you, or is it the part of you that wants to ignore your weaknesses and humanity?

Hmm, perhaps that's some of the source of my agitation. Certainly there are selves that want a voice that I'm not too keen to listen to. Sometimes they come up in dreams, sometimes they come up in more oblique ways...short words, restlessness, wanting more, even fatigue.

Dreams are a natural way to work with this energy because the dreambody isn't as mitigated by the ego as the waking self is. In dreams we're often given a less distilled version of the shadow to work with. Sometimes I draw my dream images, sometimes I move them through authentic movement, sometimes I write about them. The key is to open up a dialogue with them and see what they have to say, where they want to go, who they want to be. The dream is just the beginning of the conversation. And as I write I'm reminded of a dream of several weeks ago that is awaiting my conscious involvement. Perhaps this is the day to work with it.

The Grandfathers ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

Last week I drew The Grandmothers and today I'm being visited by The Grandfathers. This is traditionally The Star card in the RWS deck. In the foreground we see several generations. They form a semi-circle suggesting the passage of time, cycles of life, transmission from generation to generation. The first two figures, to the right and center, are ghostly figures from the past. They're drawn in soft pastels, barely there color and line. The stream flows through them, telling us of the stream of timeless wisdom that is available to all of us. Available because it's not external, we are its flow, its current, its body.

Next a soft feminine figure acts as anchor, two beings on each side of her, her presence a marker, a doorway perhaps between the manifest and the hidden. The next figure is wearing the strength and solidity of earth tones, colors I associate with the present, the actual. He has his hand on the back, the heart center actually, of a young boy dressed in the green of beginnings, of growth and potential, the future. The boy stands before the clear stream that is winding its way through a sacred grove. The trees are mature, wisdom-holders in their own right. The source of the stream appears to be from the star shining above the mountains, its light spilling down to earth in a watery blessing, passing through the bodies of those who've gone before.

The figure points towards the star with his left, receptive hand while his right, active hand is on the boy's back. This simultaneous use of the left and right hand speaks of receptivity coupled with empowered action. Perhaps he's telling the boy, keep your eyes and heart on the star and your path will be clear. Perhaps he's reminding the boy of the blessings the star can bring. The overall feeling in this card is of transmission and inspiration and how the two go hand in hand. Where there is wisdom and experience, there is inspiration.

Today I feel I'm being invited to bridge two realms that are closely related--dialoguing with the shadow through dream while at the same time embodying the inspiration of those wisdom-holders who've gone before me. I like to think that the Earth is dreaming me into being as much as I'm dreaming Her into being, that She walks within me as much as I walk upon Her. Co-creatrix. This kind of co-creation might be as simple as bringing the realm of inspiration and dream into form on the page with color and line. I'm enjoying looking over at the cards throughout the day. The combination is peaceful, a gentle reminder that these elements are quietly here, engaging with me.

Medicine Cards ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

The Palm Opening

Rebirth ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

As I was shuffling this morning I had a jumper card. I picked it up off the floor to see Rebirth. Traditionally called The Sun in other decks it's certainly not one I'm going to reject when it comes my way. It feels like a good card to pull today. The kitchen gleams with the fruits of my labors, my body is feeling normal again and outside the sun is, in fact, shining brightly. Ds starts a new class today, always an opportunity to practice a sunny self. And I'm aware of the recent solar eclipse last weekend.

There are some underlying currents of tension that I could attach my focus to but seeing this card I feel like the medicine is to allow the sun to permeate my being, including all those nooks and crannies quietly sitting in the shadows. In this card a couple welcomes a tiny baby into the manifest world. The trees bear witness, silent and sentinel, the Sun rises in joy, animals attend to the ceremony playfully reminding me of my own animal body, that its presence is cause for celebration. The little child lies with arms wide open to receive the world, a gesture that implies both power and vulnerability. Try it right now, lean back turn your face upwards, breathe in and then open your arms wide on the outbreath. It's a sensation and gesture that doesn't get much play in an adult body. Perhaps I'll spend some time in that arms-wide-open position today. This baby looks as though it's arising out of a lotus, out of the perfection of an awareness that is rooted deeply in the earth but rests lightly on the cosmic waters. The couple are shining in their own way with love and tenderness, the hearts on the little blanket reminding me that love supports life.

I wonder who is being reborn in this picture. Certainly I felt my own rebirth when my son was born. That day I was born a mother. Children allow us that, it's one of the surprises of parenting. You learn to play in the sand again, run between raindrops, discover a frog for the first time, try the wind on, feel the sweet chill of ice cream on the tongue, fly in the swings, meet hands and toes as objects of fascination...This attitude of wide-eyed amazement at the everyday world is such deep magic.

I recall a profound teaching my son gave me when he was an infant. He'd been playing with one of his toys for a while, entranced, enthralled, delighted. And then just as quickly he was done. He simply opened his palm slowly and watched the toy roll out of it and onto the floor. He didn't push it away or throw it down, the simple act of opening his palm was enough to allow its release. So this is how it's done with what we hold onto, I thought. No effort required, just an opening, an outbreathing...a rebirth.

The Grandmothers

I awoke the day after my deep clean of the kitchen with equally deep muscle soreness and fatigue. Yet another pre-dawn wake up didn't help either. I still had a few tasks left to do in the kitchen, one of which was washing the floor, an easy and straightforward job but one that requires some physical energy. Doggie needed a hike, too. I felt exhausted as soon as I got out of bed, my body like a lead weight. What to do?

I dragged myself through breakfast-making for ds and myself then got pup ready to go for a long hike as she had gotten short shrift the previous day. Upon my return I was ready to go back to bed. To give some context here, my body is still recovering from a couple of years of serious depletion at various levels. I forget how sensitive it still is until I put out a lot of physical energy and then reap the consequences the next couple of days. I still need to be quite careful in this area as I strengthen which has been a long, slow and currently ongoing process.

I very much wanted to complete my task but I was finding it hard to move. I spent some time sitting, thinking I could gather my energy. Then I took a hot shower to enliven me. I made lunch for ds thinking I'd begin after lunch. But I just couldn't access the physical energy I needed though intention I had aplenty.  So I turned to the cards asking for guidance...

The Grandmothers ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

Seeing this woman sleeping deeply while a Grandmother sprinkles blessings over her felt like direct permission to tend to my own tired body. This day it needed rest, this was the wisdom of the grandmothers speaking. The central figure sleeps peacefully while her spirit is replenished with the blessings of the foremothers. She rests on her stomach, hara-center directly on the Earth to receive its nourishing energy. The Wise Woman wears a crown of earthy branches with blue yoni-shaped leaves and white moon-like discs. A band of blue with gold stars encircles her forehead across her third eye telling us she's in touch with her own cosmic intuition. She is crowned with the earth of the feminine giving her task a silent sovereignty. As the sleeper dreams a halo forms behind her, blue swirls supporting her in her dream journey and ennobling it. Traditionally this is the Moon card and in this depiction a waning crescent Moon looks down as silent witness. The waning crescent moon is associated with release, with tending to the inner realms.

This card made me think of my own grandmothers, one of whom homesteaded on the Prairies living in a sod hut the first year while the family built their house. She would not have had the luxury of a day off or of the hot running water, heat, inside toilet and electricity that I do. I'm sure she would have loved a day off once in awhile. This same grandmother, whose name was Beth, later felt determined to earn a living at a time when marriage and motherhood were the only expected roles for women. She rode by horseback through the woods in all kinds of weather to teach in a one-room schoolhouse.

She often told us the exciting tale of having to ride through a forest fire while on horseback because there was no other way to get to the school, so keenly did she feel her duty to educate. She was likely only 16 or 17 at the time. But my favorite story is one about her mother, my great-grandmother, which she always shared as if it were a deep teaching. In a poignant act of defiance against her husband, who felt beauty was frivolous and unnecessary in an environment where survival was a daily ordeal, my great-grandmother planted a small bed of pretty flowers. She tended these lovingly through all the hard times and I like to imagine the great joy and power they gave her simply because they were beautiful and they were hers.

My grandmother Beth {L} Great Grandmother Baldwin {R}

So, yes, I would rest my body and make of the rest an offering to all the grandmothers who were never able to have that luxury. Guilt turned to gratitude as I gave myself over to the wisdom of rest as an act of giving, a yielding to the intelligence my body understood far more intimately than my egoic self. The remaining hours in the day were peaceful because suddenly there was permission to simply be tired with no value judgements attached to it and no pressure to do anything other than what my body was asking of me. I slept deeply that night, the Grandmothers card beside my bed, blessing my sleep. And the following day I was able to complete the few remaining tasks in the kitchen with ease, fulfilling my visit with the Goddess.

When Mystery Comes Calling

Earlier last week I made a commitment to devote an entire day to a deep clean of the kitchen. Our kitchen is large, we've got two dogs and it's been a while since the last deep clean. I had some Miriam Makeba lined up, an assortment of hot drinks, and lots of sponges, soap, rubber gloves, mops, buckets and so forth. I was well-equipped.

Before getting started I decided to pull a card for the day knowing I'd need some help along the way, some guidance on how to sustain my enthusiasm. I drew Sunset aka Death. Not quite what I had in mind but given my resistance to the plodding nature of my work the irony wasn't lost on me. What was I hoping for, a Three of Cups kind of day? Well, yes, actually, yes I was. So with my intention firmly saddled up I took the reins and rode into the shining sunset in search of transformation...or I rode into transformation in search of shining. Either way works.

Sunset ~ Medicine Woman Tarot

I'm happy to say I found it and not just in the kitchen. My own attitude to the task felt remarkably changed as I kept in mind the guidance the cards offered me earlier in the week. As the day drew near the phrase, 'a rendez-vous with God' kept coming to mind. Mystery came calling and I was ready to receive Her. Added to that was a solar eclipse in Virgo. Even though my ascendent is Virgo I was unaware of this solar eclipse and it wasn't till I received some material in my inbox that I made the connection between the intention and detail I brought to my task (think q-tips to clean the cabinet and drawer grooves) and what was happening astrologically...

Solar Eclipses are profound turning points that bring endings, new beginnings, and major changes. This particular eclipse in Virgo will compel you to start living life on your own terms and let go of what's not working. Whether this brings renewed vitality or a crisis is up to you, so don't leave it to chance!

Well, I rather like that and though I find these kinds of predictive emails an overly generic sensationalizing of the possible highs and lows the phrase 'letting go of what's not working' feels like a theme paralleled in the Sunset/Death card. It was a good, productive day full of hard work, earth plane work and at the end of it the kitchen and I gleamed with care, intention and the fruits of elbow grease and suds. I finished all of the long-overdue heavy cleaning with just a few lighter jobs remaining for the next day. The altars in the space got a nice cleanse, too...

Green Tara

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.

Crane Medicine At Dawn

I woke before four this morning, a semi-regular occurrence thanks to hormonal tides. Some days I mind and other days I welcome the silence, the darkness, the space for practice, for uninterrupted thoughts and dreams before the busyness of the day begins with its duties and roles to inhabit. Today in the diminishing darkness I pulled a Card of the Day on my phone app. I like the apps for this purpose, times when I don't want to have to look through all my decks to find the one I want to use, times when I've not had enough rest but can't go back to sleep and dawn is beginning to unfold itself across the sky. Today's draw speaks directly to recent themes of distraction that feel like pulls on my energy which aren't contributing to a feeling of wholeness or equilibrium.

I used the wonderful Animals Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt. I was fortunate to acquire this OOP deck from a fellow AT member and I'm so grateful I did as it has become one of my favorites. It combines animal medicine with Tarot wisdom through the lens of Lisa Hunt's gorgeous and evocative artwork. It's loosely based on the RWS system. The Majors and Court cards depict gods or goddesses from various spiritual traditions and the Minors encompass a wide spectrum of the animal, bird, aquatic, insect and reptile world.

Crane ~ Seven of Swords ~ Animals Divine Tarot

On this card a delicate crane stands in the middle of a small eddy of widening rings of water surrounded by a circle of swords, blades pointing downwards, tips submerged in the pool. Stars from the night sky are reflected across the pool's surface and as the crane bends towards them, trying to decipher the messages, her own reflection peers back at her calling her back to the present moment.

Crane medicine speaks to themes of balance, grace, navigating the world of water and air, heart and mind and, because Asian cultures associate the crane with longevity, it also represents drawing on ancestral experiences as a way to anchor oneself in the present. This could be as simple as recognizing my place on the path within the lineage of women who've gone before me. I can imagine them all standing behind me, a long feminine wisdom-stream ribbonning back into the liminal prairies of time.

While the bird below is not a crane but a Great Blue Heron, the body language and landscape it inhabits is similar. I remember the day I snapped this pic on a walk around the lake. This majestic bird stood absolutely still for a long time letting me snap pic after pic as the sun warmed both our backs and the wind ruffled hair and feathers.

The LWB for this card suggests that too many visions and ideas have contributed to mental clutter and clouded the mind and heart from its true north. This feels applicable and particularly so this morning as I lay in bed with the freedom to let my mind roam and wander down various possibilities and paths. The internet does not help and I often find myself dancing between screen time and real time, between the virtual and the embodied. With Crane's wings unfolding my intention I feel encouraged to embrace the opportunity to watch how often my mind feathers wildly away from the still point at the center as it reaches for stars, shells or some variation on a lack of presence.

As a way to bring this medicine into the body I have spent some time working with the Tai Chi move 'White Crane Spreads its Wings'. It's a beautifully slow and deliberate sequence of moves, watery and airy at the same time but rooted in the body's ability to shift and share weight and gravity. Like Crane I can aspire to step into the waters of the moment with deliberation and grace imagining as I do that a great, great, great grandmother might also have found herself pausing to breathe quietly in the middle of a day full of hard, physical work, the wings of her heart opening and closing gratefully around that brief, stolen stillness.

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.