10/22/12—Turning Energy Off and On

Today's Draw: Madrone of Coils from the Ironwing Tarot. To what extent do the energies of those around you affect you? Have you ever taken stock of how much your energies affect others? Do you know turn your empathic abilities on and off as needed?

The Ironwing is one of those decks you can't translate to traditional RWS suits or meanings. She is a court card. And she is water on water, which means she's all about the emotions and relating. The sea turtle speaks of her ability to swim any ocean and dive to any depth. Her shell reflects the swirling lights of the night sky. She can connect to and feel everything. 

Most of us know that as the description of an empath. I'm guessing many who read this blog are empaths...people who can sense and feel the pain and joy of others. I sometimes have have difficulty in crowds because I feel overwhelmed by "input". While not something I've ever worked on or developed, I feel like I can embody another person and "read" them from the inside out. This is something I very rarely do, though, because I think it's intrusive and just really not something I'm interested in. 

A couple of months ago I went to a conference and a woman pulled me aside and said, "did you know you're a projective empath?" I had never heard the term before, but it's a person who projects their emotions outward so that others can feel them. Well, in that case, yes I did know...haha. I just thought I was "dramatic". But what it really is is someone who can both send and receive effectively. 

I've often said that people love to be around me when I'm happy, but not when I'm sad. In fact, I've attracted a number of people in the past who were "fair weather friends"...friends who like to be around when my energy can lift theirs, but who disappear when I'm the one who can use the boost. These are people who are always set on "receive" and don't have the control over their inner antennae to flip the switch to "low" or "off" so they can be there for others. Ultimately they just offer half of themselves to others and hope it's enough. For a long time it was enough for me, but the more this side of me develops, the more I need energy to flow both ways. 

Likewise, I've also come across people who are closed all the time...whose switch is perpetually at "low" or "off". And the interesting thing about those people is that they're usually closed around some shade of sadness. So these are people you know who rarely smile, complain a lot and have low emotional energy, despite how much physical energy they may have. A lot of times when we're depressed we close our receptors in order to protect ourselves, but these are people who are always closed. And, if not depressed, they're energetically dim/dull most of the time. 

While you might call them under-feelers, I'm an over-feeler. But the spectrum between the two isn't as wide as you might think. It's really all about what you project, what you receive and how well you're able to limit the two things. 

I think I've gotten good at "receiving" the energies of others in a measured, conscious and controlled way. So it's easier for me to be in crowds than it used to be. I bounce back quickly from being around someone who's down in the dumps. And I can use the "gift" for focused purposes. Sure, sometimes my door isn't solidly closed or consciously open, but I'm so much better at absorbing anything and everything floating around out there than I used to be. 

I don't think I have as much control over "sending", however, and this is something I've been thinking about ever since that woman said that to me. Although I knew my emotions affected others more than "normal", I had never thought of it in quite that way before. There were times in the past where I was sad and tried to cover it up...unsuccessfully. So it's not like I haven't tried. And I haven't quite hit on too many situations where I would want to turn it off or tone it down yet. So I don't yet have the command and maturity over the toggle switch that I have on receiving. 

There is a responsibility that comes with these empathic abilities, I think. There's a moral obligation to use them for good and not to use them to manipulate others or intrude on their privacy. And there's a personal responsibility to be aware of them and learn to use them so that you're not open all the time, not projecting all the time and not closed all the time...so you can effect a balanced flow of energy to those around you. 

You may have not even been aware of your abilities or the way they affect others until this post. I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing until that woman told me about the projective empath thing. Like any other "type" I suppose it has its positive and negative attributes. Now being more aware of what it's all about, I can learn how to toggle in a way that serves me and those around me best. Where are you in all of this?

7/1212—Looking Back Over Generations of Love

Today's Draw: Six of Coils from the Ironwing Tarot. When someone dies, do you lose their love? When lose touch with someone, do you lose their love? Can love ever be lost?

Today's card in "How to Feel More Love" week hearkens to that old saying, "love is never lost". The Six of Coils is about memory and nostalgia, on one hand. And on the other, it's about the connectedness we have with those we love. 

Depending on what you believe, no one ever dies. They just change form...leave the body...enter into another dimension...whatever. Their energy and vibration don't go anywhere. They may be harder to discern or feel because they're not wrapped in a personality that's wrapped in flesh anymore, but the energy remains. And if you don't believe there's an actual energy and vibration that continue on, you can probably agree that, at the very least, they live on in memory. 

What I'm getting at, to put it crassly, is just because someone is dead doesn't mean the love dies, too. So when you're not feeling enough love in your life, be sure to throw in the love of your parents and grandparents who have passed over. And while you're at it, put in the love of ALL of your ancestors who did things like fight in wars and sail to foreign lands so the family lines would live on in you and your descendents. And then you also have to include all the teachers and babysitters that may have passed. And siblings. And aunts and uncles. 

And, of course, you have to count all the living people that love you, even though they're not in contact with you anymore. And you get to count all the love that was ever given, even by people who later stopped loving you. The person they were at the time loved you and it was real. And then, of course, let's not forget about all the love you feel for everyone you've ever loved. You gotta throw that in the "feel the love" pot, too. 

And one more thing to count, which I'd be remiss in not saying this week, is that your god loves you unconditionally. That's something that also never goes away. The love of the universe beams through every heart that has ever loved you throughout time. It beams everywhere. There is nowhere love is not. You may not always see it that way, but whether in memory or in this very moment, there is never not love. For you. Because the universe's love is eternal and omnipresent.

So there's this huge web of love that covers countless generations across countless numbers of friends and relatives—not to mention all the timeless power of the universe's love—with you at its center. And all that love is there for you to receive, if you'll just open your senses to receiving it.

2/28/12—Contemplating Tradition

Today's Draw: Tradition (Hierophant) from the Ironwing Tarot. What value do you place on tradition? How do you see its role in modern society? And where do you fall on the spectrum between traditional ways and non-traditional ways?

The Ironwing is one of my most coveted decks. For one thing, it's not easy to come by. But for another, it's a pretty deep deck. But more often than not you have to read the book to even know what card you have in your hands, much less what suit. The Major Arcana cards have browns and rusts on them. All others are black and white. Beyond that, you're on your own. 

Turns out this is Major Arcana V, and corresponds to the traditional tarot meaning for the Hierophant. Not all the cards in this deck work that way. And it's funny I got the Tradition card today when a bunch of tarotists have been having a debate about traditional meanings and systems of tarot vs. non-traditional systems and intuitive interpretations. 

So here is a very non-traditional deck—it doesn't follow traditional suits, symbology or, entirely, meaning. All meanings and symbols are aligned with their relevance to iron works and forging, rather than normal esoteric symbology. Heck, it's hard to even know what card you have in your hand at any given time! In that way, it makes traditional interpretation less accessible. And, if you look at some of the other cards in the deck, you'll see it doesn't lend itself heavily to intuitive interpretation, either. At least not for me. I rely very heavily upon the book to help me with my interpretation and it's those nuances within the book that are often very profound for me.

So I happened to be guided to choose this odd animal on a day when folks are debating traditional vs. non-traditional systems and interpretations. And I, the eternal iconoclast, happen to choose the Tradition card! Go figure. But it's the perfect card!

The girl in the card is positioned at the door of the smithy, ready to enter or turn away. She has that choice. If she enters, she will learn a lot...information passed down through the ages. But the book cautions that the smithy can be a place of either guidance or oppression. Its traditions and resistance to change are both its strength and its weakness. So you'd better know who you are before you enter. Tradition can nurture efficient habits and teach arcane lore, but there is no place for original thought or interpretation. The book entry ends with saying the choice she makes (to either enter or turn away) is not important. What is important is that she makes the choice that is right for her. 

Outside of Death, how many of these cards can you positively identify?

I love the Ironwing. In a paragraph, this card encapsulated a debate that has been going on all day between a highly eclectic group of readers. But this isn't just about tarot. It's about many of the choices we make in our lives. At Thanksgiving, do we carry forth the traditions we had as a child or do we make new ones of our own? Do we color inside the lines, or add whole new worlds outside the lines the coloring book publishers didn't count on? Do we follow our church's interpretation of The Bible or do we have our own interpretation? We probably don't even realize how many choices we make between "the stated path" and off-roading each day.

Most people will probably say "I can do both". And they can. But if everyone said that, what would happen to tradition? And if no one said that, how would new ideas ever enter the consciousness? How would we ever evolve as a society? It's an interesting consideration when some are saying "tradition has everything I need" and others are saying "tradition is boring and stale". 

I think the traditional way holds some value, but not a whole lot. Just because it's been done a certain way for ages and works doesn't mean it's time to stop thinking. There may be better ways. Or more ergonomic ways for the individual. So I think everything should be tested by the individual before it's accepted. That said, I'm really into rigor and following "the way" when it comes to ceremony. So I'm going to say I'm maybe 20-25% traditional. How about you?