2/2/13-2/3/13—Appreciating the Love

Weekend Reading: Heart in the House of the Tower from the Indian Lenormand and my Deck of Lenormand Houses. This weekend you may have reason to be grateful for the protection or service of those in charge, whether that be the government, the courts, a company, a hospital or some other authority. The heart warms up the cold distance that usually falls between us and authority. With this combo, however, the opposite could also be true...the warmth of the heart can be cooled amidst authority and restrictions. If the latter comes up in your life, try a more easy going approach. Either way, with Valentine's Day coming up in a couple of weeks it's best not to take those who've got our backs for granted. 

2/1/13—Living With Surety

Today's Draw: High Priestess in the Attitudes and Thoughts position from the Crystal Visions Tarot and the Deck of 1000 Spreads. What things do you do with absolute surety? And what everyday things tend to make you hesitate or even freeze up? How sharp is your "knowing" in so far as what you're capable of?

Before we even start in on today's reading, Barbara Moore blogged about my Deck of 1000 Spreads on the Llewellyn site today. If you want to read, visit http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2013/01/1000-spreads/

OK. Now on to why you're REALLY here. Since the Attitudes and Thoughts position is usually in relation to some stated topic of a reading, today we're going to consider it as a recommend way we approach life in general. And that recommendation comes from the High Priestess, the queen chick of intuition, deeper meaning, magick and unseen energies. The ankh on her staff speaks of eternal life. 

The High Priestess need only think of something and it's there. And as for what is unseen in this world, her eye see beyond the veil. She is, in many ways, pure instinct and trust, wrapped in a blanket of absolute knowing. 

I like that I got this card because it lets me talk about the squirrels that live in my tree. They never cease to amaze me with their athletic feats. Tonight as I was watching this one guy fly surely through the air between tree limbs, only to scurry up to the telephone wire, then along the wires that run throughout my neighborhood—what I call the Squirrel Superhighway—I wondered, "what if we were so sure?" 

These little guys run at breakneck speed along a wire that's akin to a balance beam for us. And they think nothing of it. They think nothing of leaping off the top of a house and into a tree six feet away. They just leap, fully attuned to their physical capabilities, the workings of geometry and the laws of physics. 

Longtime readers will know that I watch these guys from birth through adulthood. Sure, they see other squirrels do it. And some of them are more timid than others. But when the time comes to do it, they just do it. Then they never think of it ever again. In my human mind, I see that they're risking their lives every time they do it. One false step and they fall 20 feet into the waiting mouths of my pooches...if they live to be eaten alive, that is. But none of this ever seems to be on their minds as they scurry along impossibly narrow wires, branches and fence tops. 

So I was watching him and thinking, "what if we lived our lives so surely and confidently?" I'm the fraidy cat that can't manage any sort of incline without inching down it, lest I slip. But I wonder what our antics in our cars must look like to squirrels? The way we weave in and out of traffic with nary an accident? So there are things we do just as daring, but I'm not sure I see the level of trust and "knowing"in us as in other animals. And I wonder, "what if?" Would we all live very short lives, ending in flames of glory? Or would we accomplish far more than we know we're capable of? What do you think?

1/31/13—Backpedaling on Yesterday's Reading

Today's Draw: Clover in the House of Stork from Les Vieux Jours Lenormand and the Deck of Lenormand Houses. Have you ever firmly and most assuredly stated a point only to discover you may be wrong? Did you admit your inaccuracy to all involved...even go so far as to blog about it? What do you believe about luck?

Pardon me while I personify my oracle cards, but today is a good example of how snarky the cards can be when they want to be.

So yesterday we had a combo that could mean "the end of luck" and I waxed all philosophic about how luck isn't some type of magic that is bestowed upon you. It's something you make. Then my digital camera broke, I smashed one of my favorite pieces of pottery (a wall piece), a vendor who was supposed to refund money didn't and I completely forgot to call a client that I PROMISED I'd call TODAY. Gah.

And so now we get Clover (which we all know by now is "luck") in the House of Stork, the house of birth and, get this, happy returns. So after I all but poo-pooed the ending of luck and then had what some might consider an unlucky day, today we get a combo that speaks of luck returning to the nest.

Snarky, I say! Snarky!

So I could go on and on about how happenings like this help us develop good trust and communication with our cards. And how this is a happy event, because my rapport with the Lenormand turned a corner today. And all of that is stuff I believe. But I also believe the power isn't in the cards, it's within. Which means this is my own way of telling myself, "your attitude got too big for its britches yesterday, Tierney."

I suppose we all need to be reigned in now and again.

And I did kind of unnecessarily mock the leprechauns and fairies yesterday.

I still believe luck is made, though. Very strongly. But maybe there's a little something to this fairy dust thing after all. Just a little. 

Anyway, that's my reading today. Nothing too wise or wonderful. Just a lesson in humility for all the world to see. But the good news is that the cards say my luck is back, baby! I expect to wake to a refund from the vendor and forgiveness from the client. And since I ordered a new digital camera and got cheap next-day shipping with Amazon Prime, I should have a new camera for the next Daily Draw. There's no way to replace the broken wall hanging, though. And it was so pretty. But I guess that's the price you pay for big britches. :D

Anyone else have a similar hard-luck day?

1/30/13—Sharing My Recipe for Luck

Today's Draw: Cross in the House of Clover using the Original Lenormand (Greenie) and the Deck of Lenormand Houses. Do you consider yourself lucky? Does your luck seem fairly consistent or does it go up and down? Do you believe some people are just unlucky?

One of the things about Lenormand is that one reader will tell you this combo means "an end to your luck" while another reader will say it means "spiritual blessings".

The Cross can mean ending, a burden or cross to bear, destiny or religion. The Clover can mean luck, opportunities, blessings or happiness. So Cross in the House of Clover could be an ending in your house of luck. Or destiny in your house of opportunity. You really just have to go with your first instinct. And mine, oddly enough, was "luck is your cross to bear."

What I mean by that is that we often think of luck as this blessing bestowed upon us from above—something out of our control and based on the whims of fate. So sometimes we've got it and sometimes we don't. But that's not how luck works. Luck is your cross to bear. You have to make it happen. And to help you do just that, I've created:

Seven Lucky Ways To Create Lucky Luck
By Tierney "Rolling Doubles" Sadler

1. Believe you have luck. Remember Tinker Bell? She couldn't exist unless you believed in her. Luck is the same way. Believe you have it and it will come. While you're at it, go one step further and EXPECT luck. And scrub the toilet in case luck is bloated when it arrives.
2. Focus on the positives in your life. If you're "unlucky", chances are you spend too much time focusing on what you don't have and not enough time focusing on what you do. Switch that around and you'll see you have more luck than you previously thought. 
3. Practice gratitude. This is another way of focusing on the positives in your life. Only it gives more power to your positiveness. And if there's one thing luck likes, it's hanging around with positive, grateful folks. 
4. Trust that everything happens for a reason that benefits you. Sometimes what looks like crap luck is actually a short course adjustment on the path to SUPERLUCKYLUCK. And if you give up now, you'll miss all the popcorn and confetti. So don't give up. Try, try again.
5. Ask for what you want. Sounds simple. And it is. If you want something, ask for it! That alone may set luck running toward you. But if not, actually putting a voice behind your desires makes them official and gives your desires more thrust in the universe. 
6. Do your work. This is the "cross to bear" part. Moving toward your desires, readying yourself to meet opportunities, practicing for your closeup—heck, any movement at all—catches the leprechauns' attention and tells the fairies where to dust. Duh.
7. Trust your hunches. If a hunch feels good, do it. If you've got a hunch things will turn out bad, don't do it. You've got a built-in luck meter. Consult it. And then consult Lucky Way #4. 
8. Detach from outcomes. If you're reading these words, you're the lucky recipient of a bonus lucky tip! *cue balloons and marching band* Simply put, luck doesn't always show up wearing a big sign. So it may not look the way you think it looks. If you have your heart set on just one outcome, then you close the door to super-sized magic. And that makes luck sad. :(

They've actually done research on what makes lucky people lucky. As suggested above, it's believing in luck, being prepared for opportunity, trusting your gut and accentuating the positive. That's about as close as we get to the science of luck. But it does point toward luck being made by the individual and not by some mysterious outside force. So if you find yourself lacking in the area of luck, maybe it's time to use your rabbit's foot to give yourself a good old-fashioned kick in the arse. 

1/29/13—Entering the Hidden Realms

Today's Draw: The Ten of Water in the What Is Hidden position from the Book of Shadows Tarot: As Above and the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Have you been getting signs lately that someone in this world or another is trying to connect with you? Are you just ignoring it and hoping it will go away? What do you think they might be trying to tell you?

Something kind of odd is happening as I use my Deck of 1000 Spreads to give context to these daily draws. On the one hand, it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do...put the chosen tarot card in context. But on more than one occasion, the spread position and the card have meant essentially the same thing. For example, last week we had the position of What to Leave Behind, and the card chosen in that position was a person burning the baggage of their past. That answered the question, yes. But the card showed a "leaving behind" in the position of What to Leave Behind. 

Today is another example of that. We get the spread position of What is Hidden and a card that shows a seeking in the dark for what is hidden. I bring this up as odd, because I don't notice this happening so much in regular readings. But it's happened here a couple of times in a week and it's freaky. So if you ever wonder if tarot readers sometimes get freaked out by what cards say or do, yes, we do. Not often, but even after 25 years I'm still amazed at how this whole process can work. 

OK. So on to the reading. In most decks, the Ten of Water (or Cups) would show a happy family scene, full of love and abundance. But this is a non-traditional deck, so that's not the reading you get today. Sorry.  :D

This card depicts Hecate as a triple goddess. She's in charge of the spaces between realms...reality and illusion, life and death...the places where seekers often lose their way. So the Ten of Water brings us to that place of uncertainty and fuzziness that she rules—the crossroads between here and "there", wherever "there" is. She is, in essence the Goddess of what is hidden. 

And What is Hidden in this case is some sort of connection. There are people you need to find, but don't know how. Or there are spirits—either deceased loved ones or spirit guides—that you need to connect with. Or perhaps a power animal or other guide has something to share with you. Whichever of those options sounds most right to you, you can no longer allow the distance between you and this being to grow. It's time to make the connection. 

If you're like me, you can think of a number of options. I could use to connect with and strengthen relationships with my spirit guides. I would like to have contact with loved ones who have passed over. For me, I don't know that there's anyone in this realm that would qualify. But if you're estranged from someone who's alive and don't know how to find your way back to them, then that's a situation that would apply here, too. 

The interesting thing is that I've had some odd happenings lately in my house...sounds. Sounds that sound like someone is in this house, when they're not. All kinds of stuff could be responsible for that, but I've lived here for 13 years, so I know what's what. Some of these sounds are borderline curious and some are just plain freaky. 

Like the knocking at the window. It's usually just three raps and sounds just like someone's knocking at the window. It often wakes me in the morning. I've got a woodpecker that hangs out in the trees around my house, so I blame it on him. But, honestly, it sounds like knuckles on window. The other morning it happened and I know I wasn't the only one who heard it because all the dogs popped up their heads. But none of them barked or seemed to pay attention to it once it had happened. And it wasn't just one set of three raps, it was three sets of three raps coming from a window that is out of reach for humans. 

So that makes me think. Is someone trying to get my attention. And if so, what can I do? What can any of us do when we're not familiar with the foggy meeting places between worlds? 

We can start by getting very quiet in a place with no distractions. We can imagine a white light of protection around us. We can ask who is there for us. And we can listen for an answer. The answer (or images) will likely come to us in our head, instead of being audible to our ears or visible to our eyes. So we have to trust that what pops into our head is real. 

Another thing you can do is invite the spirit into your dreamtime (invite "only the highest and best" spirits) and affirm that you will remember your dreams upon waking. Or you can go to a medium. It's possible that the person or spirit you'll hear from is not the one you expect to hear from, so keep your mind open. 

The position this card is in—What is Hidden—could suggest that whoever this is, they could hold some key information for you. Which is why they're trying to connect with you. And if the prospect of that isn't too scary, now is the time to answer the call. 

1/28/13—Checking In On That Place No One Can Touch

Today's Draw: The Nine of Cups in the Pros position from the Maroon Tarot and the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Are you aware of a place inside you that no one else can visit, touch or destroy? What possibilities exist in this place? And if you had to gauge the health of this place—how often you feed and exercise it—what kind of shape would it be in?

The Nine of Cups is tarot's "wish card". If you're wondering if you're going to get that job or find that apartment or meet that man, this is the card you want to show up for you. Your wishes will come true. The "Pros" position (opposite of Cons) definitely affirms you'll get your wish. You tell that to someone in a reading, though, and they'll think all their bad days will over and life will coast from here on on. But we've all gotten our wishes before and wished we had wished better, right?

Something this combo made me think of today is that, in the absence of anything else, we always have our hopes and our dreams. We always have that place where we can conjure perfect worlds fulfilled by wishes. We always have that garden of abundance that man is sitting in. And we always have a capacity for gratitude that can bring us to tears. 

This is a weird confession and something I don't think I've ever told anyone else. When I was a child, I used to contemplate the possibility of being taken captive and put into solitary confinement, or for some reason having to wander the earth on my own. Could I survive that? Could I live without interacting with people? I weighed these questions heavily and usually came out cautiously optimistic that I could withstand extreme isolation if needed.

Now, I have NO idea why this thought would ever cross my mind, but it actually did quite often. Maybe it was because my mother would often find any excuse she could to send us to our rooms...just to get us out of her hair. She was also prone to forget that she'd sent us to our solitary confinement...haha. So an hour later or whatever, we'd creep out of our rooms, peek down through the railing and cautiously try to gauge the situation...perhaps even quietly call out to her to see if she was paying attention. 

So that could be it. Or it could be some past-life memory from a time when I spent extended periods alone. In fact, I once had a past-life regression where I was a solitary hunter person with no tribe. I basically died frozen and starving. 

Or it could be because I really kind of like being alone. One of my brothers and I were the introverts in a family of extroverts. There were six of them and just two of us. We were generally the only ones that got our own spaces—me because I was the youngest and too young to share a room with my sisters. And my brother because, like Gollum, he was happy to inhabit any dark, damp corner of the house, just so long as you left him alone there. 

The reason why I thought I would fare well is because I'm really good at entertaining myself, thinking up stories and shutting the outside world away. In reality, as an adult, I know I need some interaction. But back then, I didn't really know it. I was a generally lonesome child, slow to make friends and we moved every two years, so I never had much chance to form attachments. Of course, you wouldn't think this of me from the outside looking in, but we're all lonelier on the inside than we are on the outside, aren't we?

But there was something else. From this young age, I also somehow knew that we all had a place within us that others can't touch or control or ever take away from us. We could be sent to our rooms indefinitely, we could be mocked and teased at school, have our world uprooted every two years, conform to rules of propriety and get shoehorned into some vision of normalcy by society, but one thing nobody can ever touch is that personal place inside us. That place where we can escape into ourselves. That place where anything is possible. 

What I was really weighing back then was the strength of this place against all the slings and arrows of life. As a child I thought it would be hard, but that the spirit of hope and magic and possibility would always win. That its little oasis of abundance, comfort and peace would always hold arms wide open. As an adult, I can see where this place can be snuffed out of a person in extreme conditions—through psychological terror or torture of some sort. But I still believe it's indomitable. Eternal. 

Some might call it the "self". Some might call it the "soul". But it's our greatest weapon—a gift from the universe to help us withstand what can often be a cruel world. And it seems to me that it can get lost under the debris of everyday life, numbed by our obsessions and compulsions and neglected as a "childish thing". But it could one day be the rope that saves us from falling into the abyss. So if you haven't seen yours lately, go and open up that creaky door, oil the hinges and let the poor sucker come out into the light once again.