2/5/11—Getting Out of Your Head

Weekend Reading: Dreamer Eight from Tarot of the Sidhe. Give your head a break this weekend. Put aside all the "should I's?" and "if onlys". Stop worrying about others and how they think or what they might do. Clear out the cobwebs of concern in your head and just be. These things just get between you and your higher self. If you break the habit of worries, you may find there's room for divine insight to slip in.

2/4/11—Connecting to our Animal Nature

Today's Draw: Child of Music from the William Blake. What do you do that puts you in touch with your unique rhythm and voice? How do you connect with your primal voice? And, for fun, if you were an animal other than a human, what kind of animal do you think you'd be?

 

As mentioned earlier in this week, the suits in the William Blake don't correspond to traditional suits. And, speaking of suits, this card shows a boy wearing a wolf's head an pelt, blowing on a horn as he walks through a barren landscape. ...The poem on the card reads:

Piping down the valleys wild
Piping songs of pleasant glee

Within all of us is an animal...one of earth's critters...a wild being trying to survive. We forget that in our ego and our human superiority. But it's there. And with it comes something primal and more tightly connected to the all that is. Consider that...and consider the qualities of that. What and who are you because of that? And what kind of animal might you equate to. We are genetically related to apes, but who are you spiritually related to? A fun thing to do today might be to identify that animal, then google "spiritual meaning of ____" to see what that animal symbolizes and how that connects to you.

I closely identify with canines. Clearly. My howling thread yesterday illustrates how I connect to that primal voice. If you're one of my neighbors, you might be all too aware of how I tend to howl at the moon on select nights. :) But of the canines, I would probably one of the ones in the pack that is a watcher. I often hear people say to me "oh, you noticed that?" Yes, I did. :)

So I'd probably see myself as a wolf of some sort. They're beautiful in my eyes.

As for my unique voice, that's hard, isn't it? I tend to let my mind wander free. I eschew restrictions. Which helps in my career. I may seem unfocused at times, but I'm unfocused like a fox. ;) When I have to come up with a name for something, for example, one of my strengths is that I'm able to see the naming criteria from a million different angles. I'm good at abstract thought. So my unique voice lies in there, somewhere, with a touch of humor. Always a touch of humor. :)

2/3/11—Transforming Self

Today's Draw: 9 of Pentacles from the Science Tarot. What part of your old self are you shedding? And what are you replacing it with? What transformation do see yourself going through now?

 

The Science Tarot equates everything to scientific theories, discoveries or natural phenomenon. And this card's theme is the Aurora. Excited atoms shed electrons in the sun's atmosphere and interact with Earth's magnetic field, creating a b...eautiful display. This stream of particles is invisible until it hits its target and is "made visible" by our atmosphere.

That's kind of how change happens, right? The change happens slowly, invisibly over months or years, then bam! It all comes together into something beautiful. We don't even see it happening a lot of the time and it's not until it has happened that we're able to see the transformation.

This morning I'm thinking about how tired I am of others pushing their agendas on me and judging the way I am, as if they know a better way for me to be. First of all, they should keep their eyes on their own crap and set about making themselves a better person. And second, I call the shots in my life and if you don't like how I am, then please get out of my life. Frequently these people are very judgmental of others, while seeing everything they do as perfect. And it is perfect...for them.

So the change I'm making is to stop giving these people credence and power in my life. We all have opinions. But when you express those opinions without first looking at yourself and seeing your own stuff, then your opinions are not coming from a place of authority in my eyes. I know where I'm falling short of my own expectations and often talk about it here. But whether or not I fall short of your expectations is inconsequential to me. I'm not here to live your life, I'm here to live mine. Which is not to say I don't consider your needs when I interact with you. It's just saying that I don't consider your needs when I shape my life and my interactions with others. And if you need me to bend to your way of being to feel good about me, then please move on. I have a path and mission of my own and I'm not going to change it for you.

2/2/11—Healing Blocks

Today's Draw: Four of Pentacles from the Steampunk Tarot by Charissa Drengsen. Are you holding on too tight to money? Or to an opinion, idea, belief or other notion? Do you feel blocked in any area of your life?

 

The Four of Pentacles usually shows someone who is guarding their "money"....keeping it too close. In this deck, the hold is a bit looser, but still shows a possession. And therein lies part of the rub of this card...do you possess your mon...ey or does it possess you?

And the idea extends beyond money. It's about anything we hold too close to use. Often pride keeps us holding on to an idea or thought, for example. And that, in turn blocks us.

The message is simple...if you feel blocked from something—love, understanding, money, whatever—it's because you're not giving enough of it yourself. You're holding on too tightly to your heart, pride, finances...whatever it is that you desire.

When it comes to money, I have a regular practice of what I call "tithing to the universe". What I mean by that is that I leave a $20 bill for an $8 lunch. Or I'll anonymously pick up the tab at a neighboring table. Or I'll hand the street guy $10 and not even question what he might want to spend it on. In order to increase the flow of something in your life, you have to do your part in keeping the flow going. Some of my most generous moments are when I can afford it the least.

And the same is true for anything in life. If there's something you're not getting, give it. With abandon. Without condition. Without hesitation. What this does is it starts a snowball rolling. If you act abundant, then you'll attract more abundance. If you act in need, then you'll pick up more need. So what type of snowball will you start rolling today?

2/1/11—Kicking Ass

Today's Draw: Knight of Swords from Tarot of the Boroughs. Does someone's ass need a good kicking? And are you the one to do it?

 

So here we are again with the Knight of Swords. Can you tell I'm tired of pulling this card over and over again? :D

The Knight of Swords signifies a clash of ideas...or defending ideas...or expressing ideas. He is young, confident and, some ......would say, looking for a fight. He's also highly sexed. Maybe we'll address this next time he comes up.

Really, there are 78 cards in a tarot deck and I doubt I've been doing these readings 78 days. And this is probably the fourth or fifth time he's come up. And yeah, in this deck it's all about the ass kicking.

So whose ass needs kicking and why? I've got a couple of candidates...a couple of people that I feel could rightfully offer me an apology for their assholian behavior. Knowing these people, I doubt I'll get that apology, though. So an ass kicking will do. ;)

But really...what is it with some people? I offer apologies after conflict or after I've done something I feel bad about. Why is it that some people just don't go there? Is it because I usually let them back in after a time? Is it because they can't let go of their righteousness to acknowledge their tone or words were harsh? Or is it because they're so fragile that they can't admit they're wrong? If you're out there—and if you're thinking I might be talking about you—acknowledging that you're sorry and want to heal the relationship because it's important to you can go a long way in healing. Just saying. Because otherwise I'm thinking that your indulgence of your moods is more important to you than our friendship is.

1/31/11—Staying Aware

Today's Draw: The Queen of Wands from the New Star Tarot. What has you "keeping watch" these days? Has something aroused your protective spirit? Or do things seem fine on the surface, but you have a vague sense of unrest about world events, our illusion of safety or other things right now? What is your intuition telling you about the world we live in?

 

This card shows an awake and aware Queen of Wands reclining on a tree branch with a sleeping leopard and snake. The leopard, in particular, is sleeping peacefully. But the leonine queen is awake and aware, holding her wand firmly, ready to ......attack if needed. The overall effect is that she's half coiled, ready to strike if needed, but the present moment seems without danger.

Although her cat seems blissfully unaware, there may be energies she's tapping into...a vague sense that something is up. This is the role of the nurturer, the protector. This is how we are with our loved ones. But it's also how we are in life.

I do have a quiet nagging beneath the surface that something's up. I don't know what it is, but I think to myself that things are too quiet on our homefront. I hear booms now and again and, living as close as I do to DC, my mind always goes "there" first. It's not like this weighs heavily on me, but it's there. I do have survival stuff in case something happens, but not nearly enough. So I occasionally acquire emergency items, but not in a rush. I'm half coiled like the Queen.

Can you identify with this? Is there something like that for you, either globally or in your personal life? And do you have a sense of what it could be?