Death- Transformative Experiences

I rarely get this card in my daily draw, although lately it's been making an appearance and it always gets my attention. In spite of infrequently drawing this card it makes sense to me today as it speaks of transformation, a kind of out with the old, and in with the new pretext, which is exactly where I am presently  in my life. It's both exciting and daunting simultaneously, that directly involves my creative goals and objectives.

Transforming experiences are brought about via internal or external forces, but ultimately it is our responsibility to decide what to do in response to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. I always try hard to work with what I've got, and my out look is to take an optimistic, hopeful and trusting stance, regardless of the situation, be it positive or negative.

 The power of our mind can never be underestimated in it's ability to transform the quality of our lives.

Skeleton Woman - Egg Tempera on Wood - Catherine Meyers

King of Wands - Is He Justin Trudeau?

Whenever I see this card, the King of Wands, I think of it as representing my ideal counter part, my life partner, soul mate and closest companion, because I identify with the Queen of Wands.

I think for everyone it is the most natural human longing to desire a heart and soul partner. This partner comes in many forms, in life and even in death. Some of us have lost our partners to death or some other kind of separation, and we don't envision the possibility of ever finding or replacing that person, which can't really ever be done anyway, but we continue to carry those we love ever so close, deep within the heart of our are hearts and they are with us always. Our relationship with them never dies.

Whatever our situation we have to come to accept in order to live our life to the fullest.

The King of Wands is embodied in the mythic figure King Theseus of Athens. This card represents an individual of action and a creative, entrepreneurial visionary who is a true leader, with a infectious personality and fiery enthusiasm. The King represents influence tempered with maturity, knowledge and wisdom.

When I think about the description of the King of Wands, Justin Trudeau comes to mind, or maybe I'm thinking of Prince Charming, but I'm certain there are many who would disagree with my comparison!

Queen of Pentacles - Bellissima!

The perfect card for me to draw today! The Queen of Pentacles enjoys the abundance of life, being surrounded by natural beauty and bounty of the earth that surrounds her. She is quick to share that bounty. Being a Queen she has influence, is the salt of the earth and is motherly.

Embodied in the mythic figure of Queen Omphale, is the image of feminine strength and sensuality.

Experiencing the richness of the earth for me is one of the most wonderful things that I am so grateful to be able to experience this on a daily basis, and I get the most pleasure from. I'm not materially rich, but the good earth makes me feel wealthy.

I have this fabulous collection of Italian herbs, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil, that I am so excited about and I'm really looking forward to having tomatoes, peppers and herbs from my garden to make salsa. Bellissima!

 We have a special dish in Nova Scotia called  Hodge Podge. After picking some fresh peas, green and yellow beans, along with new potatoes I threw them all into my slow cooker crock pot, along with seasoning, a large amount of butter, cream and milk.

I'd also made some bread yesterday, and this addition made for a delicious Nova Scotian Summer supper.  As we say here, it was some good!

Nova Scotia Hodge Podge

Queen of Swords - The Eagle

I believe in Totem animals and mine has been the Fox. When I see a particular wild animal several times it usually has a  message for me. There is a lesson to be learned.

Fox - Coloured Pencil - 2007 Catherine Meyers

Yesterday when I looked out my bathroom window, I thought I saw what looked like an eagle sitting atop a dead tree very close to my house. The distinctive white head made me certain it was an eagle, and when I went downstairs and looked again, sure enough there it was. It stayed on top of that tree for a longest time, as if wanting me to get a good look. It's there again today, all afternoon in the same spot. Even the rain didn't deter the Eagle who sat steadfast and majestic, surveying everything.
I'd never seen such a sight before, in the 22 years I've lived here.


When the Eagle appears, it's to inspire and urges us to reach higher, and to become more than who and what we think we are capable of being. The message is to be have courage, to stretch our limits to explore our personal growth.

The Eagle perched high on that tree, encouraged me to see things from the Eagle's perspective, and to get out of my comfort zone, and to push through my limitations. Good fortune and victory are signified.

It's time to take full responsibility for my life, to be prepared, and to increase my spiritual awareness.

The Queen of Swords is a fine companion for the Eagle, as she too is regal and dignified. Her idealism is both lofty and noble.  Atlanta spurs us on to become more than what we are, like the Eagle. She strives for perfection, and can be of great influence because of her intelligence and perception, much like the Eagle who flies closest to the Creator.

Two of Pentacles - Duality and Balance

As a Tarot card reader symbols of balance frequently come up in readings and often represented in the imagery.

Granted, balance in all aspects of our lives is essential, more so now than ever, living in an world that's off it's axis, in multifaceted ways. There are extremes in climate, in wealth and poverty, violence and war torn environments and all that it entails are painfully evident throughout the world.

There is duality in everything, but not necessarily balance, though I do believe this is the natural order of life, and I think the world needs to get back to balance. Where do we start?

 Most people worry and wonder what kind of legacy we're leaving for our children and the generations to follow. The outlook appears bleak and very serious. However worry is a useless exercise. We do need to be adaptable and our concerns need to be replaced with affirmative action in order to enable positive and healing change that hopefully can bring us back into some semblance of balance like the rising and ebbing  of the tide, that brings peace within our hearts.

Minudie Nova Scotia - Photographer - Allen Shepard

“He showed me a sketch he'd drawn once during meditation. It was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer. But this figure had four legs, and no head. Where the head should have been, there was only a wild foliage of ferns and flowers. There was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.
To find the balance you want," Ketut spoke through his translator, "this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Ten of Pentacles - Why I Love Oat Cakes and Maple Trees

After making some Nova Scotia oatcakes and picking fresh yellow beans from my garden, I called a dear friend today. I told him about how lovely it is to be enjoying my Summer, sitting under the shaded canopy of the magnificent Maple tree in my front yard with a cold drink. He said that sure made him feel good to know. Of course that made me feel good too, to hear him say this.

I really have been soaking up the small numerous pleasures of the season, and thinking about how very grateful I am to have these things to get so much pleasure from.

The card I drew today, the Ten of Pentacles is all about a sense of completion, contentment, security and having a sense of permanence. We see a happy family who is safe and secure, living a full life of contentment.

I've been thinking about these matters a lot lately and upon drawing this card, I realize as time passes, just how very blessed I am. I'm increasingly more grateful for life and all the gifts that have been so freely bestowed upon me.

In another four months it will be three years since I paid off my house. Each year this reality sinks in more, as opposed to when I first saw the end of my mortgage. It was a little surreal to me then, and hadn't begun to really sink in. I had gotten so use to struggling as a single woman on my own, for so very long, over the past 20 plus years. It's taken time to catch up to experiencing the relief of not having to struggle quite as much as I have in the past, and to know that it will continue to get easier for me. That's a really good feeling.

The symbols of happiness represented in the Ten of Pentacles never seemed possible to me, though I longed for such things in my life. They were elusive I thought, but apparently were a concrete reality for others, not for me. It took me a long, long time to figure this all out.

I see now reflecting back, that I was on a path that eventually lead me to the kind of happiness that comes with completion, contentment, security and permanence. But I didn't reach this phase of life easily. It came very hard, and painfully.

Most importantly, it came with the help of the God of my understanding and with the help, love and support of my family and friends. I believe we never find happiness on our own, but it's absolutely essential to be grateful. If not, it's impossible to find the happiness we seek and we miss seeing the forest for the trees.

Speaking of trees I'm going out again to sit under the Maple tree canopy, with a couple of Nova Scotia oatcakes and a cup King Cole tea, and maybe a cat on my lap!

Nova Scotia Oatcakes Yum!

Shaded Maple Tree Canopy

Nine of Cups - Finding the Fruits of Your Labour

I don't usually have any question when I spread out my deck to pull a daily card. But this more I asked a specific question, and it was really a wish, or a desire or a prayer and very happily I then drew the Nine of Cups, commonly known as The Wish Card!

I've be actively involved for sometime now in figuring out my purpose and mission in relation to my business. In other words the Why, What, How and Who of my creative enterprise. This last week I've really dug in and clarified each part and am making some significant head way at connecting the dots that reinforce, affirm and enable my purpose and mission.

As I have said in my past posts, I'm not a person who believes in luck. I think we can bring about or own luck in that we make things happen with passion, inspiration, commitment and work. Sounds simple enough, but it's not.

 It's a nice fantasy to think about having a magic wand,  a special potion of maybe a fairy god mother to grant us our wishes. But that's not reality and in the long run, it would ask nothing of us in terms of personal growth.

Finding the fruits of my labour involves a lot of repetition and effort. I go over and over the steps, practicing, which is how we learn a skill. There is also a commitment involved to learning, even the things I'd rather avoid learning for one reason or another. However I've found the kind of learning I avoid the most is where I will find the most important lessons that I need to learn. Instead of looking at these as a hurdle, I need to see it as a challenge, that will get me out of my comfort zone, resulting in my personal growth.

Seven of Wands - Are You Ready To Rumble?

I've never been a fighter in that I never beat anyone up, and was ever interested in that sort of thing. Although I loved to watch wrestling on TV with my dad, and we lived close to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and we'd actually go see wrestlers like Sweet Daddy Seeky and The Beast.

 When I arrived in the small home town I was born in, after living in Ontario for 15 years I took serious notice of one thing. The young teen aged girls were physically fighting with one another. It was very strange and a little scary. I felt like a powerless underdog, but my actions reflected my creative intuition that were my weapons of choice, if I was ever confronted, and this resulted in a peaceful outcomes. I also found humour was often disarming or I could simply walk away and vote with my feet.

I'm a fighter when it comes to trying to overcome fear, or when certain challenges present themselves  I force myself to persevere and I try to remain calm. It's a good feeling when I can overcome whatever it is I'm struggling with in stressful situations.

I spent the last week fighting with my printer and finally figured out how to get it working properly. This isn't a spectacular kind of accomplishment but if I can fight those little frustrating day to day challenges, I see it as a kind of creative practice. These scenarios give me the opportunity to practice patience, and to have the trust to have faith, that I can overcome, and it gives me the opportunity to increase my perseverance.  These are all the things I pray for in my life.

The Seven of Wands represents the underdog who is victorious through perseverance and faith. It not about competing with anyone, but ourselves.

Chris Hogan, Will Sasso, and Aries Spears play El Asso Wipo, Señor Bag of Crap, and El Diablo Negro, the Mexican wrestlers.