Refusal

What am I refusing to witness?  What needs validation?
I wasn't sure what the image was relaying so I decided to step into the card.  I took my place on the bench and held the swords up as the example.  What I noticed is my hands became numb after a bit.  So what becomes numb in me when I refuse to validate myself?  That's my question for today.

Taking care of business

Ah, another King.
I have drawn another King today, and the message is clear.  Yesterday I began the set up a new computer system.  Things are a hot mess.  Not only do I have to get used to a new operating system but continue to work on downloading and transfer files.  Alas, this becomes more challenging as I add on a few years, adaptability has become in short supply in my life.  I had to copy this poor king from another website instead of scanning him from my own deck.   So maybe the Kings are here to help me master my techno lacking. We shall see. 

Those were the days my friend

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

This king appears younger than most, but a king he is.  I have never much cared to be given advice by supposedly 'learned' men.  This guy those seems to say indulge yourself and enjoy life.  Now that is advice I can get behind.

On the note of kings and old men that make decisions for us.  I still cannot understand why women, all and any, voted for the orange bastard.  Seventy years old and unabashedly a womanizer, they voted him and his cronies in to make decisions for women.  What old man can make those for us?  For all women and their daughters, and nieces, and granddaughters.  I fear that the greatest woman, Mother Earth, is going to take matters into her own hands.  Then watch out, for that woman scorned.
Sorry, I got on my high horse this morning.




Ride Waite-Smith Tarot

View from above

Self defeating

Yesterday the four today the Five of Cups.

Well yesterday sitting under the bodhi tree, deep in concentration of the three cups before me I did not see the offering of the fourth cup and now there is a second one to encourage me to turn away from fear, worry, and the evening news.
The other day I saw my twenty-five year old niece skipping down the walkway from her parents home to her car.  I watched her and appreciated the simple joy that is expressed in skipping and wondered when the last time I felt like skipping?  When I was about the same age, a long way back down that river.  I remember a manager at the place I worked at back in 1980/1981 telling us that times ahead where going to be tough and that we better begin preparing. I was 23/24 and I think I spent a good part of my days skipping to and fro. 'Who cared about tomorrow, when we had today,'  a much better place to live from.  If I can just turn away from fear, worry, and anxiety and  pick up the cups of simplicity and joy maybe I can put some skippity-do-daa in my days.



The Rider Waite-Smith Tarot

Self evaluation

Sometimes in those quiet moments I can really listen to my own thoughts.  The trick is to quiet my mind.

Today this Four of Cups reminds me of the telling of Siddhartha Gautama sitting beneath the bodhi tree.  After years of searching he finally found a quiet space and sat with himself, tuning out all distractions.  The search is within.












Rider Waite-Smith Tarot

Misgivings

Basic Nature

This card reminds me of the Scorpion and Turtle fable.
A scorpion unable to cross the river asks a turtle to give him a ride across.  The turtle replies "no way you will sting me" and the scorpion replies that it will not because then they would both die crossing the river.  The turtle agrees and of course the scorpion does sting the turtle.  The turtle laments and asks why the scorpion stung him as they now will both die in the river and scorpion replies, "because it is my nature."

I guess I best not trust everyone.









The Tarot of Durer cards

Stormy weather

As above so below?

This card feels like a microcosmic version of The Wheel. Maybe the Wheel in action in day to day events.  Here is birth into troubled times.  Yet something new brings renewed hope instead of the apathy normally present in the four of cups. 

I also saw the bird in reverse action.  Earlier in week the feather, than a few days later, a bird in repose during stormy weather, and now the birth of the bird.  Ending, middle, and beginning; the flow of time in reverse?










The Tarot of Durer

At the ready

Romeo

He jests at the scars that never felt a wound.
-Act One of Romeo and Juliet









The Tarot of Durer ~ concept by Manfredi Toraldo art by Giacinto Gaudenzi       -Lo Scarabeo

bewildered

I don't get this World depiction and for that matter I don't get our World in action.

At the base of the card the creator of the deck has given us Aere perennius.  I had to look it up.  It comes from a poem penned by Horace as "Exegi monumentum aere perennius" translated as 'I have made a monument more lasting than bronze.'  Horace attributed this to his poetry that would outlast him and most anything else.

Whatever happens in the World, the World will outlast us.  Eons have passed and things constantly change with the lovely planet Earth.  I am but a footprint that will disappear with the rotation of time.  Does that forgive inaction?  Is there something that I can do that will make a significant contribution?  Ethereal questions that whisper in my mind. 







The Tarot of Durer

Routine

Yesterday Uninspired today Routine, talk about a rut. 

Security is nice but can be a prison.  I mentioned a bore and a chore yesterday with the artisan doing the same thing over and over.  This shopkeeper does the same thing day in and day out.  Sure she owns her own business and there used to be some satisfaction in that, now not so much. 
Well no use in crying over the spilled milk, clean it up and get on with it.










The Tarot of Durer

Uninspired

An eight is an eight is an eight.

I drew an eight yesterday and now this eight.  I wonder if this artisan had perfected the craft of making cups and threw them out the window and now has perfected the pentacle.  Repetition and routine can be a bore and a chore and comfortable and safe.

Janina Renee in her book, TAROT Your Everyday Guide, explains when eights appear it might be best to consider the numerological meaning and eights can be about "choices that preserve order and balance, even if doing so requires suppression of some impulses and desires."
Makes me think about the lemniscate, an eight laid out on it's side. Looping over and and over again.  Routine can be safe and it can also be a trap.






The Tarot of the Durer

perplexed

There is much to consider, and in doing so, I have forgotten where I started?

I have been pondering this card off and on for several hours and not sure where to go with it.  My first thought was, 'well here is the bird that lost her feather the other day and "yes" she did miss it and has been keeping a watchful eye out for it, even on the rainy days.'  Next I wonder who in the house back on the hillside threw out all the cups - kinda of like the baby and the bathwater.  Maybe they mistakenly threw the cups out with the dishwater?  But no that cannot be since some cups are standing.  I think all eight cups were placed and with the rising river, some have begun to wash away.
I am going to keep this card in mind throughout my day.  I am on my way to a funeral and then a late afternoon open house.  Hopefully by days end my subconscious will work on the imagery and I will have more clarity.
All is not what it seems, it seems.




The Tarot of Durer - art by Giacinto Gaudenzi, Manfredi Toraldo  Copyright Lo Scarabep

Better choices

No confusion here.

Lately I have been having a few difficulties and with that upmost in my mind the last few days these two cards have presented themselves.  I need to pay attention to what I am eating.  Foods in a more natural state and for me to choose a colorful palette of foods.  Spring is almost upon us and this would be a perfect time to change what I choose to eat.  Maybe not all fruits and vegetables, but definitely a wider variety of more healthy snacks. 

Unselfconsciousness

Letting go without regret.

"When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us." - Alexander Graham Bell

This quote is more often true than not.  I live with some regrets.  I think I have moved beyond them and then they raise up from the darkened corners of my memories and I realize what a strangle-hold some still have on me.  There are many wedged in between the years of my life.
I look at this feather and ponder if a bird ever sat on a tree limb and thought, 'damn I lost another feather.'  I can see the wisdom of not living in regret; letting those little bits of this n that drift away on the current of the wind.  I find that I still identify with some of them and gather them and tuck them away to haunt me another day.

Creativity

A little dab will do you.

These little pots of paints remind me of a couple of things.  First I haven't painted any little rocks for quite awhile. Even though my artistic streak is just a narrow ribbon that runs through me, it does bring me joy to do a bit of this n that.  Secondly, they also remind me of my ink cartridges for my printer; just a little bit of this color and a bit of that color mixed together gives me the whole palette for my pictures on my reports for clients. 
Life would be such a bore if it was all black and white.  The differences are worth celebrating and from time to time I need to remind myself of this. 

Also as a parting thought I don't always need to paint between the lines. 

Energy

E=mc2

My energy is sluggish this morning.  Time change x Cold weather = a draggy Carolyn. 

The notation on the back of the card:
"We need a constant supply of mental energy to carry us through the challenges of life, but remember that, to have a healing effect, the quality of energy generated in this symbol-based meditation is as important as is quantity."
So maybe to up my energy level I should focus on this card with its image of exciting-uplifting energy and hopefully that will super-charge my battery pack.  Not today it won't.  Maybe a big dose of some caffeine will do the trick.  Or maybe put on my CD of Abba and get myself revved and ready.

This would have been a perfect card for my 'Mermaid Week'

Reflection

Returning home yesterday afternoon after several appointments I looked out my office window to see a ambulance arrive at one of the homes across the street. Rose's sons were waiting at the curb for help and assistance for their mother. Rose, a lovely woman who had mostly become a shut in after her husband passed maybe seven or so years back.  I used to go visit her every few weeks for a few years and then I was hurt and I never really did visit her again.  I remember her telling me that when her husband came home from the hospital after his heart attack, which occurred before they moved into the complex, that the hospital must of sent home the wrong man; except in appearance he was not the same man she had known and lived with for years, his trauma had changed him dramatically.  She was lost and lonely and she told me a number of times that with him gone all she wanted was to die and be with him  I sat and thought of her for quite awhile yesterday and still this morning.  I wish her love and light in whichever path she chooses, to stay or go to her beloved.

Priorities

All hands in.

Priorities change as we change or maybe we change as our priorities change.  Same or different?   I no longer manage by the 'seat of my pants.'  These days I have to think a situation through before moving forward and I always give consideration to what I am planning and yes prioritize its importance in my day to day happenings.  As I have gotten older I have to ask for assistance with certain things, and so sometimes my priorities have to wait till there are available hands.



I stopped at a yard sale the other day and bought a plastic baggy with meditation and oracle cards, this being one of them.  On the back of each card are hints and suggestions for your day and a possible meditation to do.   I don't who the author(s) are; so thank you to whomever.

Moon River

I love the Moon. 

The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

Time Change

Daylight Savings Time

Tonight is the night, to remember to move my clocks forward for an hour.  It takes me weeks to adjust to this time change.  It is unsettling to my rhythm.  When we fall back in time in November that seems more natural, same twenty four hours. Since I am self employed it doesn't affect me as much as others, still.  Maybe since the perception is we 'lose' an hour and then we spend the next seven and half months looking for it, is the unsettling part.  I was never one for hide n seek.
SPRING FORWARD!

Revisitation

I think I will stay for another day, thank you.

This lovely fairy revisited me today and I am good with that.  An Ace of Pentacles is always a good omen.  Yesterday she stopped by and I had a really good day.  I found a ten dollar bill, nice.  I received an offer that the owner accepted on a home that was a bit challenged.  The weather was absolutely wonderful, a good day to shore us up before the next two weeks of very chilly days.  An abracadabra day.  So for her to make a second appearance, I am all for that.  I have a class this morning, hence the books I think.  A brokers open house late this afternoon, maybe I will lucky enough to draw one of the give-a-ways.  Today is Friday so a lot of people are a bit nicer on Fridays since their weekend is away from work. 
I hope everyone has an Ace of Pentacle day!






The Fairy Tarot

Found treasures

Find a penny pick it up

I posted this ditty the other day,
Find a penny pick it up, all day long I will have good luck.
Maybe I will find a lucky penny today.
A small nugget of wisdom or truth might pass my way.
A token of appreciation
Maybe a gesture of gratitude.
A bit of this or that!

I keep hearing the nursery rhyme when I look at this card -
A-tisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
and on the way I dropped it
I dropped it, I dropped it,
and on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up
and put it in his pocket.


The Fairy Tarot

Birth-right

a particular right or possession or privilege one has from birth.

When I first drew this card, I thought of a line in The United States Constitution, 'certain unalienable rights'.
This newly born fairy coming from royalty will enjoy more rights and privilege than others I am sure, especially since the babe is holding a magic wand.  Are we all born with a magic wand, but have it taken from us immediately so we conform to 'our place' in society?  I also wonder about the heart shaped locket, different than the traditional nod to Venus on most Empress cards, and it is not securing the golden chest.  What's up with that?  Maybe cause Venus is Retrograde currently.
I was reading something on the internet when I first signed in and I saw that today, March 8th, is International Women's Day.  I didn't even know that women had an international day?

"Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It's you who can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai


The Fairy Tarot

Mindful or Mind full?

One, Two, Three

It's the little things in life that I must remember to celebrate.  Sometimes I can get caught up in waiting or dreading the BIG moments, that I don't pay attention to the everyday wonders.  These three fairies have come across a cool stream of water and jump in and enjoy.  The creek is always there; do we just walk on by or take a moment to jump in and have a splash?


Find a penny pick it up, all day I long I'll have good luck!









Fairy Tarot Cards -Illustrations by Howard David Johnson   Doreen Virtue & Radleigh Valentine

Changed

Life Experience

Sometimes I need to revisit my Tower moments.  More than just the tornado incident five years ago, there have been others.   I have more than just survived all of these instances or events, they have become part of me.  It does become more challenging to recover or bounce back as the years meander on.  I have always been a strong woman, not so much anymore.  I may look and act most days as a 'tower of strength'  but inside I am more 'humpty dumpty.' 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Carolyn together again.


Maybe that is the reason for 'Tower' moments, to force change?


 
The Fairy Tarot

 

What you see

Spectral Colors

This Seven of Summer in traditional tarot is the Seven of Cups.  Choices based on how you feel about something(s).  The base of the card gives us a directive -  'Your power comes from making a decision. Confusion that arise from overanalyzing the options.' 
That happens doesn't it, when we are given a myriad of choices, it becomes difficult to choose.  This fairy is holding up a crystal or prism and the light beam that travels through shows us the options.  Also, they are the colors of a rainbow and the seven major charkras.  I often wonder if the colors I see are viewed as the same colors of others.  Blue is blue, and yet I can see many variances of blue - between light blue and dark blue, so others may see a midnight blue when I see a violet blue.
A decision can be hard to make when there are infinite possibilities in that choice.



Fairy Tarot Cards - Illustrations by Howard David Johnson.  Doreen Virtue & Radleigh Valentine

Uplifting

Crepuscular Rays

Sunbeams parting through the clouds.  Crepuscular rays is the  correct term; I like sunbeams, angel lights, and golden rays.  Always a lovely and magnificent sight.
Today promises lots of Sun which bodes for a good day.  Today we move my niece into her first place.  She is excited and I am excited for her.  It is her turn to follow the Sun wherever it may lead. 
So here is to a wonderful day for everyone everywhere. 











The Sacred Circle Tarot -Anna Franklin & Paul Mason

Trifecta

A perfect group of three.  A group of three with a desirable outcome.

This is the third day in a row with a draw of one of the Majors.  Today The Wheel, The Fool made an appearance yesterday as the Green Man, and starting my three day journey on the Majors path was The Star.  Reminds of the old idiom, 'three in a row makes a rooster crow.'  Ha!  Most interpretations of The Wheel and in fact all three of these cards, are usually favorable.  I will take that as a good sign.   Oh I almost missed it...I just looked up a my wall calendar and saw it is March 3.  More 3's.
Trinity, Triad, Threesome...Trifecta!
I think I might buy a pick three lottery ticket today - in honor of the Wheel of Fortune.







The Sacred Circle Tarot - Anna Franklin & Paul Mason

Something in green

The Fool by any other name...

I was reading the book that came with the deck and I had not before realized that Robin Hood or Robin Goodfellow was actually a story line fashioned from the The Green Man.  Makes sense and I can see the correlation, just had never put the two together before.    This card also makes me think of St Patrick's Day coming up in a couple of weeks.   'the wearing of the green'












The Sacred Circle Tarot - Anna Franklin & Paul Mason

The Way

Star Gazing.

The Wise Men followed it.  Fishermen set their compasses to them.  I love going out and making a wish on the first star of the evening that I see.  This card feels the same; someone out in the Highlands has followed the bright light of a guiding star to a village and found a safe haven.   Full of light, hope, and promise, make your wishes on The Star.

"Star light Star bright, first Star I have seen tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

"Hitch your wagon to a Star."

"Second Star to the right and straight on till morning."

"There wouldn't be a sky full of stars if we were all meant to wish on one."

"Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it."

The Sacred Circle Tarot - Anna Franklin & Paul Mason