Embracing the Shadow: An Eclipse Reading

This summer has proven to be a whirlwind of activity, movement, joys, and intense challenges. My blog has certainly landed toward the bottom of any priority list I might have had, and even this post has taken a week to finish writing (but I did it!). This grand solar eclipse a week ago was a special moment that has felt so profoundly relevant to all of the energies flowing in, around, and through my world since summer began. I saw an eclipse spread developed by Sharron Basanti from the School of Gypsy Arts  and made space to draw some cards.

I used my (fairly new) Visconti Sforza deck - the Golden Tarot by Mary Packard, which is sumptuous and rich and fun to read with....

What area of my life is the most influenced by the Solar Eclipse? Strength

I love the Strength card, though to be honest, this particular version was what prevented me from acquiring the Visconti-Sforza for so long! A man beating an animal is not at all how I experience Strength, but with historical decks it's critical to understand the context in which the deck art was created. In this case, it's meant to be a man keeping his pride and baser impulses in check. Still, I much prefer to see the friendship between a woman and a lion, bear, boar, or any other similar wild and fierce creature. To live in harmony with the wild within us is far healthier than to beat it into submission!

All of that said, this card makes so much sense for me (and I love the Leo connection between the eclipse and the card itself!). For months now I feel I've been getting to know more intimately than ever before my own wild nature; learning about how to stretch my wild limbs. I feel like a wolf on the inside, and sometimes even see one in my mind's eye when closing my eyes to fall asleep. How do I embrace this birth and still try to hold onto balance? The answer is: I can't always. Birth is messy. And that has largely been my focus for some time now. It's not always pleasant, but then sometimes it is, and I am filled with this glorious and wonderful power of my own feral self.

What illusions are being brought into the light? 8 of Swords rx

Patterns and paradigms have a way of turning in on themselves. Over this past summer I've come to startling and moving realizations about my own mental cages, the constructs that have kept me locked into a particular way of being that no longer fit me anymore. I was too big, and the surroundings too uncomfortable. I was ambling along, quite unaware of what was happening to me, and then one day, I woke up.

How can I embrace my shadow medicine? Knight of Swords rx

The Knight of Swords has long been my shadow warrior. He is upside down because he is my flip side. The Knight of Swords sees so clearly, and is not blinded nor deterred by the ebb and flow of sentimental tides. Once you see, you cannot (and should not) unsee, and there is great strength and conviction available there, in staying in that awareness. This Knight has kept me focused, has encouraged me to speak my truth, even when that truth is sharp and piercing. The determination and forward orientation of the Knight has kept me moving, even when I am uncertain of the destination.

What paradigm shifts will emerge after the eclipse? 2 of Wands

Themes of personal power and the willingness - readiness - to explore new landscapes (both outer and inner) have formed the backdrop of all of "this." If the 8 of Swords directly symbolizes the paradigm shift, the 2 of Wands is the door to new ways of understanding and engaging with myself and my space.

How can I harness potent medicine of the Solar Eclipse for my spiritual practice? 4 of Wands rx

In addition to some pertinent elements including "freedom" and "transition," this card is associated (via the Golden Dawn) with Venus in Aries. Learning how to honor my heart has been another fundamental theme this summer. The other day I pulled a card from the Raven Oracle (by Gabi Bücker) to serve as "food for thought" over the next handful of months - a sort of mantra or reminder when I need to refocus. The card message I received said: "Your heart is a treasure trove - not some smelly sewer." I laughed at that last bit, but the essence is true and relevant for me now. Love is everything; our hearts can handle limitless amounts of it, in all of its many forms. I want to explore all of the love that my heart has to offer, and that is certainly a spiritual practice.

Message from the Sun: 8 of Cups rx

In order to walk a new path, is it necessary to leave behind the old? Can I search my soul, honor myself, live authentically by transforming "what was" instead of discarding it? I think so. And at any rate, I believe that is the "question of the moment" that the Sun is presenting for my consideration.

Rune Study Post #9: Wunjo

Happy Wednesday! Today's focus will be on Wunjo, the eighth and final rune of the first aett.

Wunjo translates to "joy," and connects to themes of harmony, happiness, joy in community and family, and hope.

Given the state of horror in the world at present, I am particularly happy to arrive at this rune: may its energy reach into the hearts of all those who are suffering deep and unimaginable sorrow, and transform the hate and power-centric mindsets of those perpetrating terrible acts against the innocent.

An Anglo Saxon rune poem* reads:

Joy is had by the one who knows 

few troubles, pains and sorrows,

and to him who himself has

power and blessedness,

and a good enough house.

Questions:

1) What other meanings do you attribute to Wunjo?

2) How do you utilize this rune in your practice?

3) If Wunjo has presented itself in your rune castings, how have you seen its energy manifested?

*translation from Runecaster's Handbook by Edred Thorsson

Maferefun Yalorde!

Today is the feast day of Ochun, lady of the sweet waters, of love and honey and joy.

Artist: Hubert Escobar

Ochun is considered the youngest of the Orishas, and though she represents the beauty and sweetness of life, she is a source of profound strength and power. One of my favorite patakines (sacred stories) about Ochun tells about a time where there was a great drought on earth and everyone was suffering. Other Orishas had tried to reach Olodumare (God) to tell him what was going on, but were unsuccessful. Finally, Ochun climbed on the back of a peacock (one of her sacred symbols) and flew up through the sky, past the scorching sun, and to the realm of Olodumare. On the way, the heat of the sun had burned the feathers of the peacock, such that it no longer had the lovely, colorful plumage. This is said to be the first vulture. Ochun herself was also badly burnt, her beauty marred by fire. Olodumare realized that she had sacrificed her vanity for the well-being of the world, and he healed her, though her beauty was not restored. This highlights how Ochun's beauty is not solely physical - her strength, love, and beauty shine on the inside. Olodumare heard her plea, and allowed the rains to fall again on earth. Since then Ochun has been known as a messenger of God.

Ochun is dear to me. Aside from Elegua and my guardian Orisha, Obatalá, she was one of the first saints to step forward in my life as a guide, support, teacher, and wellspring of deep love and joy. On this day, her feast day, as we openly honor and praise her, I feel her abundant felicity in my heart, a special kind of lightness that I clearly sense is her sacred essence coursing through me. 

My son, Gabriel, is Ochun's son. While all of my children are loving and expressive in their own ways, Gabriel is by far the most demonstrative, both physically and verbally. He's a total romantic. He often says, "You know what?? I love you and I like you!" Every single morning when Lourdes wakes up and stumbles out into the living room, Gabriel lights up and greets her with an affectionate, "Good morning, sweety!!!" He hugs, he snuggles, he loves to be loved, and he adores sneaking into the bathroom to douse himself in my perfume, or his dad's cologne (another attribute of Ochun, ha!). It warms my heart in ways that cannot be expressed adequately in words. This morning he woke up and said, "I'm so happy today!" When he saw his father he said, "Dad, it's Ochun's day!" He picked out a freshly made cookie to offer her, and he helped me light some candles in our window. 

Maferefun Ochun, Yalorde, Yeye...todos los días.

Mother's Day Gifts

I'm a lucky woman.

A few days ago my mother sent me a text saying that she was sending a couple of packages for both Mother's Day (for me), and for my younger daughter's birthday. Then she quickly sent another text saying, "Do you want to know what I got you??" She was never very good at surprises - she gets so excited she can't contain herself! I didn't want her to burst from nervous tension so I replied, "Sure, if you want to tell me!" So she told me, and a couple of days later it arrived in the mail: Osho Zen Tarot. I still haven't asked her what prompted her to choose this deck for me, but I was touched. And in fact this is a deck I've admired from a distance, particularly every time I see Ellen from Grey Lady's Hearth feature it in one of her posts. So it was pretty cool.

Then this morning, the day of Mother's Day, my husband and kids surprised me with yet another card treat: Wonder of the Mother inspirational cards. This is a deck I'd never heard of before; it's not Tarot, and not really an oracle either per se, though I suppose you could use them to understand unfolding energies. I think they will be wonderful for meditation and inner awareness. There are 54 cards, each featuring a distinct image of one of the many faces of motherhood along with a key word - patience, surrender, strength, chaos, imagination, to name a very few. On the backside of each card there is a bit of writing that tells a story to give depth to the keyword. On some cards it's a poem, on others a little narrative or explanation. I adore the diversity in the images on these cards; ladies from all walks of life, all ages, cultures, colors, are featured. I also love the inclusiveness of having a card in this deck that features single fathers. So, score for Jorge and the little ones!

Wonder of the Mother card box and a lovely greeting card

So I took both decks for a test drive.

I had just seen a nice Mother's Day spread that Veronica Chamberlain had posted on a social media forum, and I thought I'd try it out with the Osho Zen Tarot. The spread itself calls the reader to meditate on the Empress card, and then shuffle and pull three cards: 1) The legacy given to you by the women of your family, 2) What new work you should begin, and 3) What advice your female ancestors have to help you on your way with this new work. You can try this spread out as is, but I riffed a bit: I left the Empress out, and changed the second question to "What am I experiencing at present."

I pulled:

Legacy: Adventure
Current experience: Clinging to the Past
Advice: New Vision

Spread with Osho Zen Tarot

I am leaving out the associations from traditional Tarot, and simply going with the energy presented by this deck, in its own context. So the legacy from my female ancestors is Adventure, and features what appears to be a young child toddling forth into a new world, full of light, color, and possibility. It's both beautiful and interesting because I do sense that many of the women in my family, at least in the most recent generations, are or have been adventurous. My mother has often called our family "nomadic" in that we've just never been the kind of family that settles in one place for long periods of time. My ancestors traveled, learned to speak new languages, learned to survive (and eventually thrive) in new landscapes and cultures. My ancestors raised families in difficult circumstances, and kept blooming. I like that the spirit and legacy of my female relatives has been summed up by Adventure.

As for what I'm working with in my present circumstance - Clinging to the Past - this reminds me a bit of the 3 of Swords I pulled the other day, the subtle sadness that floats under the surface of late. What it highlight for me is that I'm at the cusp of a personal paradigm shift, and that comes with some discomfort and grief, by virtue of the nature of change. I think that on some level deep change is scary, so this card is recognizing that fact: even positive change can be difficult to experience.

And their advice to me is New Vision. This beautiful figure appears vibrant and fluid, the back arched almost as if in communion with the universe. It's perfect really, that my adventurous ancestors would see me struggling with a transition, and urge me to embrace a new perspective, a new understanding, a new way of seeing. There's an element of trust here, as well - trust in my connection with all that is, that is always present, and wants what's best for me (which sometimes necessitates a shove out of the nest).

A wonderful, touching, meaningful first reading with this deck - thanks, Mom!

This morning I decided to do a "nurturing" spread with my new Wonder of the Mother deck. I made up a simple three card spread in the moment:

Card 1, How I nurture myself: Mirror
Card 2, How I nurture my children: Happy Happy Joy Joy
Card 3, How I nurture my spirituality: The Red Dress

Spread with Wonder of the Mother cards

The first two made sense immediately. Figuratively, I'm always looking in the mirror, asking myself questions: Am I being honest with myself? Am I embracing the right actions? What is the root of my emotion? What do I really want? And I try to be the truest form of myself that I can be, at all times. (It's a work in progress!!). I feel that being open with myself is the best way for me to be kind and loving to myself.

In terms of how I nurture my kids, "Happy Happy Joy Joy!" definitely sums up how I feel about them, and what I try to give to them. I adore my kids, they're the light and sustenance of my soul in so many ways. They're my heart, my root, and my deepest passion. I love making them happy, watching their faces light up in wonder and excitement, I love simply laughing with them. I hope that when they're all grown, they have fond memories of our crazy dancing sessions in the kitchen, listening to Mika, Joan Jett, Los Van Van, and Lykke Li.

The Red Dress caught me off guard momentarily, but after a few moments it all made complete sense. This is a card that represents the need for down time. This would be the moment when you take the baby to a sitter so you can enjoy a night out on the town with your husband or partner. It's about loving your kids enough to make time for yourself, which is a very important concept. And really it's vital for spirituality as well. Yes, it's something that is imbued in all I (and all people) do, a part of simply existing. But I need to create moments of uninterrupted time to focus on spiritual practice as well, whether that means fifteen minutes to meditate, ten minutes connecting to the vastness of the sea while standing at the shore, or an hour to do some readings. Alone time is my spiritual red dress.

So Mother's Day was a good day. My new decks are wonderful, and I'm still absorbing the layers of meaning from these two readings. It's very special that both sets of cards were gifts from my dearest family members, and I am looking forward to working more with each of them for a long time to come.

Cards I Don't Love to See in Love Readings (Part 2)

Here we go again! In my last post I discussed the Hierophant energy in love readings, and how it definitely makes me cautious. Today I thought I'd talk about the trusty 3 of Pentacles! What's wrong with this card, you ask? Nothing, really, it's a perfectly nice card…. in a career reading this is a great sign of project expansion, teamwork, appreciation, and indicates that the groundwork for a plan has been successfully lain - now it's time to keep on building!  When applied to a love situation, it would seem that a similar vibe would be true: love requires the focus and attention of the couple; the foundation of the relationship is set, and it's time to move forward toward mutual goals - or hey - maybe the couple even works together!

DruidCraft Tarot
Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm
Will Worthington

Yeah….but no. I'm not hating on this card, or denying the fact that in some cases it can refer to positive and uplifting teamwork in a relationship. I'm simply saying that in many cases I've experienced the 3 of Pentacles as a gentle warning that there's a third "something" involved in the relationship. This doesn't necessarily have to represent a third person, but it does represent some issue that puts pressure on the development of the couple. This could be an issue of jealousy, important responsibilities that could detract from time spent together, or it could simply mean that how well a couple's puzzle pieces fit together has yet to be determined. Perhaps one person is very interested in taking things to the next level, while the other is still trying to keep things a little more "open" for the time being. So while it's not at all a "bad" card, it always makes me hesitate and take a very careful look at the message that the rest of the reading is giving off. It usually indicates the need for increased dialogue about what each person wants from the union.

A final note: I work with reversals, and in these "Cards I Don't Love to See" posts I am referring to upright cards. I will have to write a separate post about the intricacies of those feisty reversals-vs.-uprights in the future :)

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Cards I Don't Love to See in Love Readings (Part 1)

I've had a higher-than-usual number of romance readings in the past week, and it's had me thinking about lovely, and not-so-lovely cards for love. There are a lot of cards in a Tarot deck, and all offer a range of challenging-to-pleasant meanings (some admittedly much more/less pleasant than others!). There are cards that tend to provoke visceral, negative reactions in us at first sight - the Tower, 10 of Swords, 3 of Swords, to name a few. And then there are some cards that seem fairly positive at first glance, but which I often find hold difficult energy when they pop up in a love reading. There are several cards that fall into this category, but in this post I'm only going to cover one: the Hierophant.

The Hierophant

Golden Tarot/Kat Black
US Games

This is a card that many associate with "marriage," and it's fair to say that that can be one of its meanings. This is a card I feel represents teaching and learning, structured beliefs, grounded and ancestral spirituality, and group-related activity. This might seem promising as an outcome card in a love reading where the querent wants to know if a relationship will reconcile, or develop into something significant, and in certain cases it may well suggest such a positive possibility. However in most cases I've found the Hierophant to be something a bit less promising. In some instances it has shown up as a rather rigid person who is so focused on traditional roles and/or community pressure that he/she either proves to be a difficult partner, or simply isn't willing to pursue a deeper relationship with the querent. In other cases it's appeared in readings where the querent was involved, or considering involvement, with a married person. In this context it usually indicated that the married-person-in-question would remain loyal to his/her marriage when all was said and done, leading to the demise of the querent's relationship. So while it might be tempting to see the Hierophant and think "marriage, making it official," etc., it pays to be very careful with this card, and to take into very close account the other cards in the spread, and the overall feel that the reading is giving off.

..to be continued…!

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