4/2/11—Seeing Your Importance

Weekend Reading: Ten of Coins from the Maroon. See yourself in the context of our world and know you are blessed. If you have clean water, shelter, peaceful sleep, food and clean clothes, you have all the riches of this world. If you have love, you are further blessed. Feel the awe of that blessing and express gratitude this weekend. You may be a tiny speck in the universe, but you have not been overlooked.

4/1/11—Clinging Too Tightly

Today's Draw: Four of Pentacles from Infinite Visions. What are clinging too tightly to? What are you reluctant to share? And what might this be blocking you from gaining?

 

The Four of Pentacles generally speaks of holding on too tightly to your money or material things. But it can be interpreted to signify holding on too tightly to anything—being possessive of a lover, meting out your warmth and affection spa...rsely, trying to control a situation you want to unfold in your favor.

When we hold back anything of ourselves, we block the flow of energy. This can have adverse effects on everything from our social situation to our mental and physical health. So look around you and see where you might be holding back some part of yourself or clinging too tightly to something.

I know I frequently hold on too tightly to certain ideas about who I am. For example, yesterday my power went out so I had to go to the library for the power and wifi to meet a deadline. I had a festering pimple next to my mouth. A scabby scratch on my chin. And my hair was skankilicious. I wasn't wearing makeup or anything and, because I'm overweight, I always feel like I have to look "just so" in order to be even close to attractive. And I certainly didn't look "just so". But a handsome man caught my eye and took the opportunity to flirt with me, gross as I was.

Anyway, it occurred to me that I hold on too tightly to my own warped self image, built upon decades of feeling not attractive enough, that I don't open myself to the possibility that different people find different things attractive. And while I'm focusing on that pimple, maybe he was focusing on my eyes (which I admit, are terrific...haha). And by holding on so tightly to that image, I block myself from any other possibility...and from the opportunity of flirting back, because I'm feeling so insecure. The reason this even occurred to me is because I have someone in my life right now that is helping me see myself through kinder eyes, so that block is loosening enough for me to even see how tightly I've held on to this notion. Otherwise I might still be unconscious to it.

I bring up this example, because it's one of the more subtle ways we might hold on too tightly to things. And also because we're often unconscious to places where we're creating blocks. It's about being open minded and open hearted, yes. But it's not always in the most obvious of ways. So this might be a thought to take into your weekend. What subtle and obvious ways are you blocking yourself from greater abundance because you hold on too tightly to the abundance and notions you already have?

3/31/11—Getting Cracking

Today's Draw: The Ace of Swords from the Steampunk Tarot. Is there something it's high time you got crackin' on? Or a new way of seeing things that you've come across? What is catching the attention of your mind or causing conflict in your brain?

 

The aces in tarot signify an upsurge of energy in one area or another. In the suit of swords, that upsurge comes in the mental realm, the home of critical thinking. So the ace signifies new ideas. And new ideas are either sparked by—or lead... to—conflicts in the mind.

This particular ace shows an arm holding a riding crop high, ready to use. They seem to be about to move away from some dark, ghostly image in the background...perhaps a shadow of themselves? Maybe an old way of being? What is it for you?

This has significance for me in many ways. I committed myself to a personal, top-secret tarot project recently...one that I think has a lot of potential, but I need to figure it all out. So that's me getting crackin' on something fresh and new. And I also have a friend who's become important to me that is making me think a bit differently about a number of things. And overall I think I'm in one of my periods of change and adjustment.

I once read something about "campers" vs. "climbers". Campers are people who feel comfortable where they are, have planted roots and aren't changing. Climbers are constantly on the go, challenging their ideas and their status quo. In the mental realm, I'm a climber all the way...constantly evolving. But in life as a whole, I like to camp for a spell, then do some intense climbing, then camp for a spell. I need those times of respite, where others may not. The problem is, momentum usually keeps me in that state far too long. Right now, there's so much energy behind some of the things coming my way that I have no choice but to start climbing again. Which is exactly what I need because I've been camping too long. It's just taking me some time to adjust to the new status quo. So what about you?

3/30/11—Nurturing from the Heart

Today's Draw: Queen of Pentacles from the Herbal Tarot—Marshmallow. Are you the nurturer/healer in your family? Do you often feel depleted and drained? Do you take on others' energy as your own?

 

The Queen of Pentacles is the grand dame of earth and home. She is the earth mother and wise woman of the tarot. She personifies compassion and care. In this deck, she is represented by the herb, marshmallow, which soothes inflammations and... softens emotions.

She asks us to live in our bodies and experience the sensual aspects of life...the sights, sounds and sensations. To a certain degree, we touched on that yesterday. So that's still a message today. But today we can also focus on her compassionate nature.

Often when we're nurturers, we have a tendency to take on the sorrows and pains of those we love. Because of our position as the go-to person in the family, we also tend to think we know best and can often impose choices on others and tie ourselves to whether or not they'll take our advice. All of this can deplete our energy and work negatively on our psyche. So the Queen of Pentacles asks us to be aware of these possibilities and orient our nurturing from the heart, rather than the ego. To love, then let go.

I used to carry more of other peoples' emotions than I do now. These days I'm more detached from the ills of others...compassionate, but not absorbent, you know? However, I do sometimes attach myself to the advice I give others and become emotionally involved in the choices they make as a result. When we do this, we're not giving from the heart, we're giving from the ego and we need to be aware of that.

Too often nurturers give to the point of depletion and, if that is who you are, it's essential that you learn to give with detachment and take time each day to find a quiet place to recharge each of your five senses. It's important to recognize when things are out of your control and let go. Others have their own paths to walk and if they continue to make the same mistakes over and over, it's because they still have lessons to learn. We can't walk their path for them. And part of walking our own is knowing when to let go.

3/29/11—Nurturing What You Value

Today's Draw: Ace of Pentacles from the Wizard's Tarot by Corrine Kenner. What do you truly value in your life? And how much of your day do you specifically spend nurturing what you value most?

 

The interpretation of the Ace of Pentacles can go a lot of ways. It can signify an upsurge in finances or opportunities. It can mean a positive change in material or home matters. It can speak to connecting with the earth. And the five poin...ts on the pentacles themselves, signify the five senses.

But the Ace of Pentacles is also an opportunity to consider what you value and nurture it. We spend so much of our day in the pursuit of money and position, but if the world ended tomorrow, we wouldn't miss our material things anywhere near as much as our relationships. But how much of our day do we spend nurturing those?

And I'm not talking about packing lunches, running errands and driving carpools. Those things support the relationships, but they're disconnected. Most of the time when you're doing those things, you're thinking of all the other stuff on your plate. They're not nurturing. So consider how much time you spend truly 100% focused on those relationships and make any adjustments necessary to put them in their proper perspective.

Every day, at some point of the day, I lay down with Magick and Kizzie in front of the window and talk to them. I tell them how much I love them. I pet them. I share their little window world with them. And at night when we go to bed I tell each of them something they did during the day that I loved and I tell them good night. Yeah, I know they're dogs. But you know what? They turn their heads and listen intently when I'm telling them that stuff. They know.

I also spend time outside at some point during the day...no matter what the weather. And, even if for just a few minutes, I close my eyes and smell the air, listen to the sounds, feel the breeze on my skin...I activate my senses to truly experience that relationship. All this said, however, we're talking about maybe a total of a half hour out of 24. So consider the time you spend truly nurturing and appreciating what's most important to you today and see if you can weed out some of the non-important stuff to make more time for what matters most.

3/28/11—Finding Original Solutions

Today's Draw: The Hermit from Science Tarot. Is there something in your life where you think "why haven't they come up with a way to....?" Do you feel you hold a key to one of life's mysteries or a solution to one of those kinds of challenges? What is your plan for bringing shape to your innate knowing? Do you actively carve out time to work on this?

 

The Science Tarot equates the Hermit to Fermat's Last Theorem. Pierre de Fermat was a 17th century mathematician who had a habit of taking notes in the margins of his paper. In one such note he wrote that he had discovered a mathematical pr...oof that the margin was too sparse to contain. For centuries afterward, mathematicians sought out this proof without even knowing if a solution truly existed. Finally in 1955, the proof was achieved.

The Hermit is that seeker. The one who moves forward on an inner knowing and applies their intelligence and intuition to finding a solution that may or may not exist. Whether it's the invention of a new hair doodad or the cure for cancer, the answers are out there. And the first step toward finding them is questioning why the solution doesn't exist. This is the Hermit's quest. And he says the answer comes from focused study, dogged determination and the solitude it takes to lose yourself in deep thought.

This card from this deck is speaking to me today because I feel I have an answer to one of those "why hasn't anyone thought of..." type questions in the area of tarot. My "thing" isn't something the world can't live without. It won't bring about world peace or cure ills. But neither will a new hair doodad. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value and doesn't need to come to light.

We all have contributions to make and I think we all have solutions locked inside us. So the first step is to ask yourself what yours is. What do you know the most about? Or what do you know enough about? The clue is somewhere in a passion of yours. What might you know that you don't know you know? That's today's big question. :)