3/5/11—Comparing Yourself to Others

Weekend Reading: Comparison from Osho Zen. Resist the urge to compare yourself to others this weekend. Bamboo may not have oak's physical strength, but its strength is in its ability to bend and flow with the wind. Likewise, your strength is unique—a gift others do not have. So don't focus on what you lack. Instead, look at what you have, honor the gift in it, and see how you are perfectly crafted to live YOUR life.

3/4/11—Saying Goodbye

Today's Draw: Death from the Rohrig. What is it time to say goodbye to in your life? If something HAD to change, what would it be? Is this a change you can't wait to make? Or is it a change you're hesitant and unsure about?

 

We have Death once again. Which, if you didn't note before, is not a physical death, but rather the death of an old way of being or thinking or doing. It is the cycle of death and rebirth. Of transformation.

For me, the change is in a way o...f life. Something very nice is happening in my life right now that is calling for me to change some of my "set in my ways" ways. It's something that's actually making me want to change things that I've been resisting changing for quite some time. It's funny how, when you ask the universe things, even things that seem to be totally unrelated, the universe answers in magical ways. I think I'm getting unstuck. In a good way.

So think about what's changing in your life and how you feel about it. And if you feel pretty stable, ask yourself what *could* change...or what needs to change. And lift that request up to the higher power without worrying about how it will happen or what circumstances surround the change. You may be surprised at the wonderful ways your request is fulfilled.

3/3/11—Manning Up

Today's Draw: The Emperor from the Maat by Julie Cuccia-Watts. Do you ever apologize for who or what you are? Do you hesitate to speak up for yourself? Are you putting off anything for "someday"? 

First of all, I tagged Steve because this card represents Herne and Greenman and all of that ilk. Not because anything in my questions relate to him. In fact, quite the opposite. Steve is the Emperor embodied. ;)

That said, the Emperor has n...ot only been dogging me all week, coming up in casual draws and whatnot, it has haunted me for years. And it wasn't until I read Julie's interpretation that I finally understood why.

The Emperor represents the quintessential man/leader. It speaks of virility, power and leadership. Julie equates it to the Aries full moon and drew the Emperor with ram's horns. Personally when I see this card I think of my father. I also think of a friend of mine who, conveniently, happens to be an Aries. The card comes to us to tell us to step into our own...speak, move and live with confidence. Make no apologies for who or what you are. And stop dreaming and start doing because life is short and today is your best opportunity.

I rarely hesitate to speak up for myself, but the parts about apologizing for who I am and putting things off for some other, more perfect time are me to a tee. I've made great strides in the former, but have lately been doing just that. And the latter will go on my tombstone if I don't change that soon. So today the Emperor comes to me at the perfect time with exactly the message I needed to hear, provided by Julie. Funny that I kept putting off hearing that message for someday...haha. What relevance does this card have for you?

3/2/11—Handling a Burden

Today's Draw: The Ten of Wands from the Bohemian Gothic (Pewter...haha). Do you feel emotionally or physically overburdened right now? Do you just hunker down and plow through? Do you relieve yourself of some burden? Or do you shut down?

 

The Ten of Wands can go a lot of ways. It can mean you've taken on too much and feel overburdened. It can mean that it's harvest time and, though the work is hard, it's a temporary state. Or it can mean it's time to go off and regroup.

Righ...t now I can't say this card necessarily applies to me, so it's meant for you guys out there. But when I get overburdened with work, I just hunker down and plow through, knowing it's temporary. And when I get overburdened emotionally, I might tend to shut down some...retreat inside myself...think of other things, meditate or go into complete denial for a time until I'm ready to sort through things.

The older I get, though, the more I'm able to take things in stride, to trust that everything is happening for a reason and the reason is in my best interests. Where are you right now and how are you responding?

3/1/11—Seeing the Next Great Adventure

Today's Draw: Two of Wands from the Siamese Tarot. What's your next great adventure? And, looking back, how has the past helped shape and predict your new future?

 

The two of wands speaks of manifestation. It asks us to take stock of our past and present, see what foundation we have and then move, with passion and creativity, toward our next goal.

If you look back over your life, you're able to see ho...w the course of your life led to this very moment. So often we think we're just moving through life when, in fact, we're making decisions that shape our future. Just like yesterday's card, this card is asking you to be conscious of these decisions as you move forward so you can more efficiently shape your future.

All evidence points toward my next great adventure being in matters of the heart. And, truth is, that's something I've been closed to for a very long time. But a number of months back some of you may remember that I held a man-ifestation ceremony with some of my friends and have working toward aligning my thoughts and beliefs so I will be open to that. So I can clearly see a path that brought me to where I am today and where I intend to be tomorrow.

The universe seems to be very clear so far this week. It's asking you to be a conscious creator. What are you creating and what breadcrumbs can you excavate from the trail to see how you created this moment?

2/28/11—Deciding Consciously

Today's Draw: The Magician from the Silver Era Tarot. Are the choices you're making in alignment with your life's goals? Are you even seeing all the choices that lie before you? Or are you too busy moving through life to see the power you have in every moment of your day?

 

The Magician card tells us that we have many tools at our disposal to create the life we want. But Aunia Kahn's version reminds us that our decisions direct our life and the tools we have serve only to execute those decisions. So the decisi...ons, choices and options are the thing.

Too often, we find ourselves going through life on automatic. I know this is true about me. And yet every move we make while on automatic is an opportunity to bring us closer to our goals. So today's card is calling you to bring that to your conscience so you can move more deliberately through life.

I have to admit that I'm making a lot of choices lately that aren't in alignment with my goals. It's like willful rebellion. And I end up treading water, rather than moving forward. It's self defeating and that has become a habit that needs to be broken. What about you? Are you moving consciously through life now? And if so, do you have any philosophies about it that can help the rest of us poor suckers out?