Tarot Card, September 30

Queen of Shields Igraine Fortune Cookie:  Ask yourself, “What is really important?  Now how do I attend to that?  And how can I do it really, really well?” To see the card: Legend_The_Arthurian_Tarot This card last turned for us at the end of May.  It’s alaways good for a bit of a reminder.  So: Attend: Other readers find this card indicates opulence, generosity, liberty, security, and perhaps even greatness of soul.  Always good stuff. Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck I use, sees it betokening a sensible, considerate woman (or person), an effective advocate, one who uses her considerable influence and power to help those less fortunate.  [Find me one such.  And send her my way as ye marketinge manageress! NOW!!!!!] So if that’s the kind of energy you’re hoping to find and/or embody today, JUMP IN! In working with my clients, I’ve come to see the Queen of Shields as very strongly paralleling the King of Shields. This is, therefore what I call the card of the Good Queen.  [For those of you old enough to get the reference, I’ve also occasionally called it “the Harriet Nelson card.”] This is the queen who understands that her mission is to care for the health of her kingdom – perhaps behind the scenes, perhaps boldly and with great fanfare − and to help take care of her subjects so that they generally can take care of themselves. She knows how the crops are growing, how the children are faring, whether the creatures are well, if the King’s men are living up to their obligations and so on.  She’s perfectly comfortable taking the limelight, and will be sweet or brash about it as will best serve the kingdom, but she does not seek it for herself and does not actually give a brass farthing for it except as a tool for doing good.  Like the King, the hard lesson she has learned is that there will always be more things asked of her than she can possibly fulfill, more things in need of attention than she can possibly do.  She has, therefore, come to understand and be comfortable with the necessity of allocating resources, caring and effort in such a way as will provide the greatest return and benefit to her King and the kingdom. In her world, it IS NOT the squeakiest wheel that gets the grease; it’s the wheel whose repair is most significant and valuable to the well being of the King, the people and the land. So, beginning today, how should you come to understand better the myriad workings of your kingdom?  (What, in fact, IS your kingdom?)  And how do you need to give yourself — in a functional, practical way — permission to attend to that which is really MOST IMPORTANT rather than that which seems MOST URGENT (or most annoying) in order to keep your kingdom’s balance, harmony and prosperity at the forefront of your rule?  What do you need to let go of, or let go fallow, or let go to hell, for that matter, in order for the stuff you truly came here to do to get done and get done well?    So ask yourself, “What is really important?  Now how do I attend to that?  And how can I do it really, really well?” Bright blessings as you rule all you survey! Quote for the Day:  It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.  ~ J. Danforth Quayle  [Good.  God.] Today’s Waethyr:  Mugwort muffins.  Calabasas tweezles.  Reduce your trilobite intake. On This Date:  1791 – The Magic Flute, the last opera composed by Mozart, receives its premiere performance in Vienna, Austria.

Tarot Card, September 29

Temperance

The Cauldron of Annwn

Fortune Cookie: Take stock of how you want your life to evolve.  Begin moving in that direction slowly, evenly, comfortably, braiding together the old with the new. 

To see the card:  http://Arthurian_Tarot

This card last came up in November! It’s not necessarily an Aquarian’s favorite card.  But it is good advice.  This card says very directly how it would have you go about the day: temperately, calmly, easily, neither striving to leap over tall buildings in a single bound nor being a slug and hiding under the covers till nightfall. [I’ve already got dibs on that space.]

It’s a card that counsels you to guard against those little wee tendencies to go to extremes − even supposedly positive ones.  Seek moderation today, and patience, and perhaps even a touch of diplomacy, no matter how much you might wish to just nuke the silly m#%@%@f**&##@s and be done with it!

When this card shows up in a reading, I often suggest that the client may be on the cusp of a substantial change.

BUT the way to best and most positively bring the change into being is to

go about the transformation slowly, thoughtfully: braiding or blending together the old with the new until, over an appropriate time, the new alone becomes who you are and what you do. 

It’s a card of making profound and helpful changes slowly, by not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  [But for pity’s sake, DO let yourself begin the process of change.  Don’t let yourself be a sitting duck where you are.]

So, let yourself explore how you would like your life to be, and how you would wish to move in positive new directions. 

Then stop and honestly take stock of who you are, where you are and how you have gotten there.   

Specifically acknowledge the good parts, the successful aspects, the skills, abilities and characteristics that are worth keeping and using and developing as you go forward. 

And blend them into the new you that is coming onto being.

Bright blessings and timely, comfortable and comforting emergings!  

Thought for the Day: That’s it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas. ~ Sheriff of Nottingham, from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves

Today’s Whethyr: Dithermebobs and wispgizzler thangbuttoms.  Wear a canvas poltroon in a seasonal color. 

On This Date: 1916 – John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire. [Don’t. Get.  Me.  Started.]

 

 

Tarot Card, September 28

 

Three of Swords Palomides    Fortune Cookie: Release old stuff as you would to cleanse the poison from a wound, and move on to beauty, hope, joy, creativity and healing.  MOVE ON TO LIFE!          To see the card: http://strangerealms.The_Arthurian_Tarot  Hmmm… This one’s cycling back after only ten days.  Guess we need to pay attention, then.  So:     This is another one of those cards (in almost any deck) where clients see the illustration, gasp, blanch and look around for another Tarot reader.  Then they look at me as if to implore, “Say it ain’t so.”     Okay. Right outta the box. IT AIN’T SO.  Now pay attention here.  And note that, as often occurs, this is a card where my interpretation veers a tad from what may be typical.    So, for starts: dealing with some power issues are we, my pretty? We can haz ruby slippers? As I’ve noted here before, a lot, I believe that a three in any Tarot deck indicates that the question being explored has to do with issues of power:   ~ beware of power games, ~ be prepared for power struggles, ~ watch out for failure to own your power  −    or, better,    OWN    YOUR    POWER   FULLY   NOW ~ have a care against disempowerment    in any area of life, whether by the action    of others,  or by your own action    or inaction  [This is the fourth element. You’ll need to know that later.] ~ refuse to submit to ploys that would    deny power you have earned ~ empower yourself ~ empower those you love and believe in ~ accept the challenge of owning all of    what you are and who you can be    It’s the fourth element of that list that I perceive to be most important in the Three of Swords.  When this card comes up for a client, regardless of the subject matter we are exploring, I usually say something like:    Look, it’s tremendously important that you not get stuck in old emotions about this situation.  Let go of the old stuff.  Get grounded.  Stay in the moment, stay in the now. Get focused, hold your head up, and move into your future without whatever wet, heavy, squishy ancient baggage is trying to sink you at the moment.     That’s not always an easy thing to hear, let alone to do.  For most of us, the current choices we would like to make as we move forward most likely seem absolutely valid and maybe even perfectly right.     But each of those transformations can be torpedoed by old emotional clottage like, “Oh, everyone will think I’m a complete flake,” or, “It’s crummy all right but at least it’s secure,” or “He was crummy all right but at least he was there,” or just plain, “I’m miserable. I’m miserable.  I’m miserable.  By the way, did I tell you I’m miserable?  Oh. Well did I tell you how miserable I am?”    The Three of Swords says    Don’t get stuck in the disappointment; don’t get caught in the heartbreak!    Release the old stuff as you would to cleanse the poison from a wound, and move on to beauty, hope, joy, creativity and healing.  MOVE ON TO LIFE!    Know that there are beautiful things to come, and that releasing − really releasing!!! the emotions & stuff of the past and moving on − will bring the hoped-for wonderfulness to you more quickly.    Bright blessings, peace, hope and release!    Quote for the Day:  Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough. ~ Paul Simon      Today’s Weather:  Wintersmith dalliance. Prorate your postulates thereby.         On This Date: 1066 – William the Conqueror invades England: the Norman Conquest begins.  [Swine.]

Tarot Card ~ September 23

Ace of Shields Avalach’s Shield Fortune Cookie:  Look for and define your new beginning. Know that great gains and treasures are not beyond your reach.  And let a beautiful swirling and blending of spiritual paths guide you toward and support you in your wonderful new life!   This card last turned for us almost exactly two months ago.  And, as anyone who has read this blog much at all will remember, Aces in any Tarot deck  are cards of a new beginning.  So, that being the case, ~ How can you − how do you need to − begin your life anew, today, this moment? ~ What changes can you begin, even in small ways?  ~ What potentials can you believe in, hope for, reach for and remember? And you can expect The Universe will keep giving you situations that ask that kinda question until you all remember to ask it alla tyme by yerownseff! And now, back to the Ace of Shields. According to legend, Avalach was a “heathen” king, befriended and converted to Christianity by Joseph of Arimathea, carrier of the Holy Grail into Britain. Avalach’s shield was known to have miraculous powers of protection and healing.  For hundreds of years it stayed in an abbey waiting for Galahad, the world’s greatest and purest knight − its ultimate and final bearer − to come and take it up. Most readers would likely indicate that this card signifies things like PERFECT contentment, felicity, even ecstasy, and perhaps gold.  Not bad, says I! Not bad!  Not bad at all!! Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, finds the Ace of Shields to be a card of treasures, prosperity, making great gains, but also of enrichment of the spirit.  Yes!  Yes! Yes!      When I work with a client and this card comes up, I look deep into the card, which is beautifully illustrated, depicting a mask of The Green Man above a Camelottish Knight’s shield upon which is worked a large golden cross.  The mask and shield are mounted on a wall; below them, incense, or perhaps oak leaves, burn on a brazier, with all enfolded by an otherworldly light.  It’s a wonderfully mystical depiction.     I find that the card directs us to look for healing, growth and progress via mystical or spiritual means.  It suggests that we should be comfortable blending seemingly diverse spiritual paths in our process, just as the good sisters in Ireland pray to the Christian Saints, but leave tidbits and goodies in the garden to feed and engage the Leprechauns and other Fair Folk, finding no contradiction in this custom. So… look for and define YOUR new beginning.  Know that great gains and treasures are not beyond your reach.  And let a beautiful swirling and blending of spiritual paths guide you toward and support you in your wonderful new life!  Brightest blessings! Quote for the Day:  I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love. ~ Henry Ward Beecher    Today’s Weather:  Marigold mysterians and mum snoids. Wear sardines or plaid Wellies. On This Date: 1909 – The Phantom of the Opera (original title: Le Fantôme de l’Opéra), a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois.    Note: Daily Tarot Card will take a break until about July 28.  Have fun till then!

Tarot Card ~ September 22

 

The Tower Vortigern’s Fortress Fortune Cookie: Go back to the shop and hammer out a few of the most basic details about who you are, what you believe, what your foundation is, what you want to build — and why.   To see the card: http://strangerealms.multiply.comHmmmmm… Hmmmmmmmm-mmmmm…. Kind of an interesting card to guide us through the Autumn.  I mean, it makes sense and all.  And God knows, the political headbangers THINK that’s what they’re doing.  Even so, facing this card daily for the next three months…  I know I need to, but I still can’t help wanting to launch just a wee tiny technicolor Oh Bugger!!!  There.  I feel much better now. This card last showed up almost precisely five months ago. So the energy is still percolating around the Kozmos.     As I’ve written before, this IS such a valuable card.  [And it’s one of my longer posts, for which I apologize.]  [Yes, really.  But don’t expect me to grovel, mind…] So here we go.  As we have seen,his is definitely another of those OhBugger! kinda cards, at least from its appearance — in ANY Tarot deck.  It’s one of those cards for which − by my interpretation, which veers a good piece from the norm − I’m supposed to tell you, “Ah, yes, yes, yes.  Don’t jump to conclusions.  Don’t leap before you look.  Really significant opportunities for growth here.”  And as I always ask, Remember the teachers (from high school math types to your skating coach to Ram Dass to Mother Teresa to Miss Laura on Romper Room to un-indicted senators and everybody in between) who have said that?  It always really means, “Get ready for some deep down bone crunching head spinning hard work!”  Even I admit that, and I have the honesty quotient of a newt.   Well, so, maybe that old hard work thing IS the case here.  Maybe.  But with this card, it’s also a matter of IMPORTANT work that will be worth your time and energy for sure.   Hard work, yeah, yeah, true, but SO VERY meaningful. Now, The Tower isn’t a dire card, at least not as I’ve been given to understand it – intuitively and through my experience with clients.  But when my clients see it as it’s depicted in the Legend deck − a huge red dragon fighting a ginormous white one, completely destroying a massive royal fortress in the process – it sort of makes them go, “Eeep-Mewlp,” suck in their breath,  swallow hard and say, “WTF!”  [That’s Wensleydale Trainspotting Factotums.] So what’s different about my understanding of the card and what it offers?  I usually say something like: Okay, I know it looks scary, dragons fighting, castles blown to bits.  But really, it’s positive. No, REALLY! The card is asking you to examine yourself, your dreams and your being.  It’s saying, Hey.  Stop for a minute.  Look at your life.  Think about it now.   If you take your life down to its foundation, down to what’s REALLY important, what’s really essential to the you that is really you, then WHAT IS THAT TRUE FOUNDATION?      Who are you?      What are you?       What is it that you REALLY have available to build upon, and wish to build upon, this time around?  And, by the way, WHAT will you build upon it? This evaluation should be applied to every area of significance in your life, particularly those in which you’re experiencing some transition.  [Transition.  What a weenie word.  How about Stress .  Or Wobble!  Or   Outright Caving In!!!   Better?] What is the true foundation – for YOU: What is the true foundation of career? What is the true foundation of family? What is the true foundation of relationships – of each and every kind, from the most intimate and powerful to minor friendships to the bagger at the grocery store? What is the true foundation of joy? What is the true foundation of spiritual connectedness? What is the true foundation of physical health? What is the true foundation of emotional health? What is the true foundation of creativity? What is the true foundation of home? What is the true foundation of beauty? And so on, all through the entire list: everything on your own personal list of areas of your life that are important to you.  What IS the true foundation for YOU? [And how many different type faces can this idiot insert for no good reason in one single post?] Once you know what your various true foundations are, then you can determine what you’d like to build upon them, how you want to do it, and what the best way is to go about it.  And it’s perfectly okay if what you wish to build changes.  It can be a villa one week, a pagoda the next, a log cabin next month and a fairy castle sometime after that.  So long as you know WHAT your foundations TRULY are, and honor them, then what you are about building is and will be perfect. What are your foundations in each area of your being?  How can you be mindful of them?  How can you stay mindful of them?  What do you wish to build upon them?  How can you begin today?   Bright blessings and a deep, happy, helpful knowing of yourself! Quote for the Day: I think that talent really means wanting to make a dream come true, and the rest is sweat, perspiration and discipline. I don’t really know what is meant by art and artists. ~ Jacques Brel Today’s Weather:  Poe meets Gandhi in a grudge match to determine who gets to be Robin Williams in the next lifetime.  More cappucino and a bag of Tolle house cookies!  On This Date: 1869 – Richard Wagner‘s opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich.    In the Northern Hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox occurs at 11:09 pm EDT. September 22 is the 265th day of the year. There are 100 days remaining until the end of the year.

Tarot Card, September 21

Ten of Spears The Green Knight To see the card:  http://strangerealms. Hmmm…  We last saw this fellow back in  early August.  I’m always grateful for this card’s energy; I almost wish it had come up tomorrow, for the Autumn Equinox, and therefore been the card for the entire season.  Oh well…  So, altogether now:  Tens in any Tarot deck betoken the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, or even the end of one way of life and the beginning of another.  So, if I were reading for you today and this card came up, I’d ask: How do the things you have been experiencing – and more importantly, how do the things you have begun to long for in life just now – represent a strong message to you that you must allow yourself to acknowledge the end of a cycle and the powerful potential for you to move into something wonderful and new, even miraculous?  How can you keep that in front of you not only today, but all through the year?  [Because you should, you know.] Then I’d say: Beyond that general information about cycles, I believe the Ten of Spears says in no uncertain terms, “You.  Yeah, you!  Go on a spiritual adventure.  Let yourself be open to new and incredibly transformative experience.  Keep a sharp eye out for integrity, in yourself and in those around you – particularly teachers, leaders and spiritual directors.  And seek spiritual renewal through the wondrous.  Yes, starting RIGHT NOW.  Get going!  DO IT!” So, in consideration of the fact that it’s time for you to begin an entirely new phase of your life, and in consideration of the fact that I’m reading for YOU today, let me be a little pushy and ask a couple readerly but obnoxious questions.  [Doofus reader clears throat, straightens vest, cleans french fry grease from shirt, looks for lost fries, if any, for a snack, clears throat again]: What ARE the spiritual adventures and transformative experiences and magical evolutions you’ve always hungered for but never really had the courage, or cash, or whatever to pursue?  Now, given that you and I are ~ a.) Looking at the specific energy you are being asked to embrace to start this (suddenly new) cycle, and ~ b.) Bearing in mind that you are being asked to accept, own and foster this energy and therefore this transformational nature of yourself over an extended period (so you don’t think you hafta have it all together by dinner tonight) ~ c.) What dreams, hopes, changes will you PLEASE actually give yourself permission to believe in and REALLY pursue so as to have achieved them by, say, a year-and-a-day from now?    (Okay, for you Capricorns, Virgos and Aquariuses {Aquariusae? Aquamarines?}   you have my permission to take a minute and write the answers down in a list on paper.  Aquarians will have lost the list by lunch anyway.  Virgos will have the list memorized, backwards and forwards.) d.) And what are one or two baby steps you can take today and this week to begin the concrete process of demonstrating your commitment to this new cycle and beginning your quest?  (Aquarius, that would mean finding the list.  Or even typing/printing out the questions and taping them above your desk.  Or onto a tee shirt.  Or something.) So, will you love yourself and the world enough to take those questions on — for the “New” You (new cycle, new way of life, whatever)?  We’d all sure appreciate it! By the way, here’s some info about how other folks see the Ten of Spears: Some view the Ten of Spears as a card of ~ oppressive energy that is overcome to achieve success (So know that you may feel challenged by the nature of the changes or goals you give yourself permission to go after, or perhaps by those around you who don’t get the point.) ~ disguise or false seeming (That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for integrity in those you connect with, and perhaps even in yourself and your own motives.)  ~ an awesome task which is successfully accomplished through perseverance (You deserve to take on something awesome.  That’s what’s worthy of you and your true nature.  Besides, that’s why you’re HERE right now.  Right?) So, for today and for this “New” You: How will you (how would you wish to) end one cycle and begin another?  How will you go on a wonderful, transformative spiritual adventure?  How will you be open to miraculous experiences, and recognize the miraculous nature of yourself?  How will you guard your integrity and seek for it in others?  How will you make this the most beautiful and wondrous of times starting today, starting now? Bright blessings and miracles! Quote for the Day:  The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~ Proust Today’s Weather: Misty Mountain Hop.  Gorgonzola chaser.   On This Date:  1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit is published.

Tarot Card ~ September 20

 

King of Spears King Pellinore Fortune Cookie: Own the Renaissance Man or Woman in you. What interests, skills, and wisdom will you pursue, and pursue deeply?  Which one first?  How can you start TODAY?  No, he does NOT look like Keith Urban with a beard!     Haven’t seen this extraordinary fellow since last November. Which is sad, because he’s always a wonderful role model to keep close by. Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of Legend, the Arthurian Tarot, finds the King of Spears to be a mature man [I suppose these days, for this blog, we should say PERSON] of wisdom, someone with humor and theatrical flair.  [Anybody come to mind?  Al Franken, maybe?  Dr. Ruth?]  So keep an eye out for that kind of energy today. Better still, seek to embody it yourself. I see the King of Spears as the card of the Renaissance Man (or Renaissance Woman).  Look for  ~ or better still, give yourself permission to have ~ a restless, joyful, driving curiosity that you allow to take you toward many different fascinations.  Here’s my picture of a typical Renaissance Person as represented by this card: He or she ~ does trigonometry problems for fun and ~ does passable table magic and ~ can conjugate verbs in Latin, French and Japanese or Russian and ~ is on Neil Gaiman’s Twitter follow list and ~ converted a car to biodiesel with no help and ~ understands permaculture and has a rain garden and ~ sang backup for Tom Petty late one night (in a bar, if nowhere else) and ~ rides a Harley and ~ wrote a published urban fantasy novel and ~ owns a Prius and ~ works with Habitat for Humanity He or she wants to learn ~ French cooking and ~ Feng Shui and  ~ Shamanic Healing and ~ judo and ~ controlled remote viewing and ~ Vedic astrology and ~ Thai massage and ~ book making and ~ classical guitar and ~ how to REALLY make money day trading and ~ how to build a PC by hand and ~ wants to design a line of edgy greeting cards and ~ wants to write a play for Broadway And so on.  (And will BY GOD! do so, by the way.)  But remember, a true Renaissance Person is not just a dibbler-dabbler in lots of things.  The characteristic that distinguishes the Renaissance person is a real commitment to explore deeply, to develop true expertise in the many areas − one at a time if necessary − that appeal.  Patience, deep learning and wisdom, not just faking it or cramming to get by, are required here. So, if you were to really own up to the Renaissancer in you, what interests, skills, and wisdom will you go after?  Which one first?  How will you pursue it deeply? How can you start TODAY? Brightest blessings, joy and wonder! Quote for the Day: The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. ~ Anon.  [Thanks, Lorna!] Today’s Weather: Porkpie salivation reechoing down the mojo rootforce.  Remember to floss. On This Date: 1633 – Galileo Galilei is tried before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for teaching that the Earth orbits the Sun.

Tarot Card ~ September 19

The Horned One Cernunnos Fortune Cookie: Believe in and use your connection to Spirit to understand how you can bring about positive change through your very being and through your prayerwork in your day-to-day life. To see the card:  http://strangerealms. We last saw this card in the middle of Ju;y.  When this fellow showed up last summer, I was given the following Spirit-based insight: “Now… remember that EVERY!!! day is a day of power, a day of connection, and a day of celebration.  Live THAT, why don’t you??” As I said then, I should probably just end the posting with that insight and walk away now, y’know?  It’s plenty good information, and would save you a few minutes of additional reading to boot. But NO-OOOO-OH.  [Oh well.  You’re a grown up.  You can stop reading whenever you want to.  Or just look at the daily horoscope in the paper or something.]  Anyway… Following a Shamanic spirituality as I do, I simply consider this the most powerful card in the deck.  Let me describe it a bit as it’s portrayed by Anna-Marie Ferguson in her Legend deck. There’s a beautifully muscled fellow sitting cross legged out in the woods under a bright full moon.  His legs are shaggy and end in hooves.  He has stag’s antlers protruding from his head.  In his right hand he holds a golden torc ~ the old Celtic symbol of kingship ~ in his left a live serpent.  He is surrounded by folk of the wood ~ fox, otter, boar, stag, frog.   It’s a beautiful, mystical, magical card. Wish I had it as a huge poster. The painting on the card depicts images from the famous Gundestrup cauldron, a first century BC ritual silver vessel found deep in a Danish bog.  Sacred, beautiful objects like this were ritually cast into bogs ~ which were considered places of mystery, power and great magic ~ as sacrificial gifts. [Better than tossing in the odd Ukrainian, I guess.  And better received as well.] You can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundestrup_cauldron . Cernunnos, the fellow depicted in the card is the Celtic incarnation of the Horned God.  He is considered to be the Lord of the Animals. [In the spirit of full disclosure, in other decks, this card is often depicted by the devil, with some attendant negative interpretations.  Even Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, alludes to the card’s primordial power, and emphasizes the need to channel this power positively and for good.] But here is what I see in the card, based on many years of working with clients.  This is a truly shamanic card in that it says, You [yes, YOU!] have the capacity to connect with the realm of Spirit.  You have an ability to bring Spirit through into ordinary reality in a way that can functionally, positively bring about change.  Because you have that capacity ~ from the Shaman’s perspective ~ you have the OBLIGATION to develop it and use it for the highest and best of all. So, in this transitional season [whatever season or day of the year it may be, as we have been informed above] ~ explore your connection to Spirit (your guardian angels, the Universal Life Force, God, Goddess, George Clooney or however you perceive Him/Her/It) ~ believe in ~ in fact ASSUME ~ a functional connectedness ~ open yourself to the goodness and healing and wisdom that Spirit offers ~ use your connection to explore and understand how to bring about positive change through your very being and through your prayerwork in your day-to-day life. Brightest blessings, joy, hope and healing!  Quote for the Day:  The slenderest knowledge that may be obtained of the highest things is more desirable than the most certain knowledge obtained of lesser things. ~ Thomas Aquinas Today’s Weather:  Winky.  Tinky. Blork!     On This Date: 1959 – Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland.  [Worried about losing state secrets?]

Tarot Card ~ September 18

 

Three of Swords Palomides    Fortune Cookie: Release old stuff as you would to cleanse the poison from a wound, and move on to beauty, hope, joy, creativity and healing.  MOVE ON TO LIFE!         This is another one of those cards (in almost any deck) where clients see the illustration, gasp, blanch and look around for another Tarot reader.  Then they look at me as if to implore, “Say it ain’t so.”     Okay. Right outta the box. IT AIN’T SO.  Now pay attention here.  And note that, as often occurs, this is a card where my interpretation veers a tad from what may be typical.     So, for starts: dealing with some power issues are we, my pretty? As I’ve noted here before, a lot, I believe that a three in any Tarot deck indicates that the question being explored has to do with issues of power:    ~ beware of power games, ~ be prepared for power struggles, ~ watch out for failure to own your power  −    or, better,    OWN    YOUR    POWER   FULLY   NOW ~ have a care against disempowerment    in any area of life, whether by the action    of others,  or by your own action    or inaction  [This is the fourth element. You’ll need to know that later.] ~ refuse to submit to ploys that would    deny power you have earned ~ empower yourself ~ empower those you love and believe in ~ accept the challenge of owning all of    what you are and who you can be    It’s the fourth element of that list that I perceive to be most important in the Three of Swords.  When this card comes up for a client, regardless of the subject matter we are exploring, I usually say something like:    Look, it’s tremendously important that you not get stuck in old emotions about this situation.  Let go of the old stuff.  Get grounded.  Stay in the moment, stay in the now. Get focused, hold your head up, and move into your future without whatever wet, heavy, squishy ancient baggage is trying to sink you at the moment.     That’s not always an easy thing to hear, let alone to do.  For most of us, the current choices we would like to make as we move forward most likely seem absolutely valid and maybe even perfectly right.     But each of those transformations can be torpedoed by old emotional clottage like, “Oh, everyone will think I’m a complete flake,” or, “It’s crummy all right but at least it’s secure,” or “He was crummy all right but at least he was there,” or just plain, “I’m miserable. I’m miserable.  I’m miserable.  By the way, did I tell you I’m miserable?  Oh. Well did I tell you how miserable I am?”    The Three of Swords says    Don’t get stuck in the disappointment; don’t get caught in the heartbreak!    Release the old stuff as you would to cleanse the poison from a wound, and move on to beauty, hope, joy, creativity and healing.  MOVE ON TO LIFE!    Know that there are beautiful things to come, and that releasing − really releasing!!! the emotions & stuff of the past and moving on − will bring the hoped-for wonderfulness to you more quickly.    Bright blessings, peace, hope and release!    Quote for the Day:  The only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience. ~ Les Brown      Today’s Weather:  Dandelion scones and trout-salad bangers.  Guaranteed to cut 8 years off your stay in purgatory.         On This Date: 1870 – Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to Yellowstone.      Oyeah?  Like WE never noticed it? Right? Or named it.  Right?

Tarot Card ~ September 17

Seven of Swords The Sword in the Stone Fortune Cookie: Own your power and reveal it to the world. Be yourself.  All of yourself.  No ego. No apology. To see the card: photo/65/58 This card used to show up just about monthly, and I thought of it as one of those cyclical reminders I’m grateful to see, because I think the information and direction in this card is SO tremendously important for all of us.  It last appeared around mid-August, and I’m glad it’s back, because the clients who have turned this card in a reading, and really honored what it gives, have benefited tremendously. So − As I ask whenever this card turns for us, We all remember the story of the Sword In the Stone, right?  Well, sort of.  Maybe.  A bit.  You think? What’s important for our understanding of the Seven of Swords is to know that Arthurian legends contain at least two sword-in-the-stone stories.  This one takes place long after Arthur has become king, and involves the introduction of Galahad to the court of Camelot.  It’s a story that has been known in and told with a number of variations. Here’s the essence of the story as it has come to me in my own Shamanic journeying. The Camelottish folk were all gathered for the Christian feast of Pentecost (or Whitsun ~ the 49th/50th day after Easter) when they saw a haayyyuge red marble boulder come floating serenely down the river and right up to Camelot dock, as it were.  Gleaming and protruding from said big red stone was an ornate sword so beautiful it had an aura of its own. In some versions of the tale the rock is engraved with the words, “This sword shall only be pulled out by the Best of All Knights.”  Of course, pretty much every guy lined up to have a heave at it, jostling, grunting, bragging, swearing, betting, whooping, loudly discussing potency inducers, passing around bottles of Armor All, quietly discussing horseback hemorrhoid  and chafing remedies ~ about what you’d expect of boys in chain mail in groups. They all had a go.  And failed flat. Then a new, completely unknown young guy quietly walked up to the stone.  Without a word, a hesitation or a glance in any direction, he took hold of the sword and pulled it from the stone like light piercing deep, clear water.  And he quietly walked back up to the castle and took a seat at the Round Table.   Thus was Galahad’s presence and stature made known to all, and thus did he rightfully sit in the Siege Perilous, a seat at the Round Table so strictly reserved that it was fatal to anyone else who sat in it.  (There were beefcake bimbos who tried.) Which brings us to the interpretation of the Seven of Swords.  [You did trust I’d get around to it eventually, didn’t you?]  Traditional readings of this card are pretty much downers, with words like “dishonor,” “futility,” and “lone wolf” tossed about.  Some readers talk about a person who is intelligent but unorthodox, or suggest that it recommends vigilance against unexpected danger. Me, I see wonderful and positive things in this card, especially as it is portrayed in the Legend deck.  Anna- Marie Ferguson, creator of that deck, by the way, sees it as betokening inspiration, enthusiasm, and the instilling of hope, faith and strength. [Anybody out there NOT up for that?  If so… GET HELP.  Now.  NOW!]  When I work with a client and we turn this one up (and it’s amazing how often it shows up in the career section of a reading), I say, “Own your power.  Own. Your.  Power.  Own it WITHOUT EGO but also WITHOUT APOLOGY to anyone.   Be yourself.   All of yourself. Be who you really are.  And get going at it.” The Seven of Swords indicates that it’s truly time for you to own your skills, abilities, gifts, potentials, intentions ~ your POWER ~ and let yourself begin to move in a new direction with new purpose. Now that we are into the last few days of summer, with all its unique magics, opportunities and challenges it is good to remember: we honor our Creator and The Earth by becoming more and more who we truly are for the highest and best of all. Own your power.  Reveal it to the world. No ego.  No apology. Bright Blessings! Quote for the Day:  Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. ~ T. S. Eliot Today’s Weather :  Buskers, ho!  Generosity toward artistes, I pray. [Step AWAY from the accordion, sir!]  On This Date: 1683 – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing “animalcules“: the first known description of protozoa. Who you callin’ animalcule, Monkey-boy?