Nine of Pentacles - Is It All About The Stuff?

In December especially, I really notice there's always too much month at the end of the money. The Nine of Pentacles is a nice sight and encourages me to remain hopeful in knowing I'll be alright, and to take great pleasure in what is really important to me in life, my relationship with myself, with others, and with the God of my understanding. This card is about being pleased with what you have been able to achieve, and not in an ego inflated way.

Christmas can be, and is such a stressful time for so many. I opted out a long time ago with all the preoccupation with consuming, preparing, and the exhaustion that goes along with the "Season". I was never  interested it this aspect, because I was blessed with having a mother who showed me the real meaning of Christmas and spirituality.

I do my reading at night in the warmth, comfort and cosyness of my bed. And since I've managed to do such a good job on cleaning and organizing my bedroom and my house, it's makes my bedtime routine even more enjoyable. It's my happy place and one of the things I love to do for myself.

Yesterday at bedtime, I picked up my copy of Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, that is always on my bedside table. I don't read every night, but really I felt the need to last night. I was curious to know where I'd left off in my reading of this most favourite of books. I noticed I'd bookmarked the story of Seal Skin, Soul Skin, one of my very favourites, and I'd done an egg tempera painting of this special story, which I think was also my favourite painting in the series of sixteen I'd painted.

Reading about the meaning of this story struck me, because the theme or message of Seal Skin Soul Skin is about women coming or going home, and returning to ourselves. Whether it be by way of retreating to some special quiet place, rekindling an old forgotten interest, going for a long walk in the woods or by the sea, whatever it is we choose; simply put, it is about women doing the thing, that brings them in touch with themselves. It is about taking time for themselves, regardless of what anyone else thinks or how they react. Women know what they need, and want, and they know when they need to do it. If we pay attention and act on returning to ourselves, by listening to the call of our souls, and resting there, this brings deep nourishing soul contentment, happiness and health.

 I thought this was a really appropriate story and message to read considering the time of year, and how women get so preoccupied with making Christmas perfect for everyone else, and often end up exhausted, burnt out, as this kind of doing for others is expected and often unappreciated. It leaves us unsatisfied, frustrated and sad. This is not what Christmas is about.

My Christmas wish for you, is that you listen to the call of your soul and that you rest there.



Seal Skin Soul Skin


In the harsh lands to the North lived an old man who trapped, fished, and slept well but he was lonely.
Sometimes when he was in his kayak out fishing in the shallows a seal would come near which reminded him of the old stories about how seals were once human. Occasionally when he looked in their wise, wild, and loving eyes, he would feel such a pang of loneliness that tears coursed down the well worn crevices in his face.

One night he fished past dark but was unable to catch anything so he headed toward home. The moon was rising when he spotted a group of naked women dancing on a large rock. Because he was lonely man, he stayed and watched. He drifted closer and closer. He was so dazzled by their beauty he didn’t notice when his kayak bumped into the rock. He spotted something lying near his kayak; it was sealskin. Perhaps due to his loneliness he stole it and hid it in his parka. Soon the women began putting on their sealskin’s, except for one. She searched high and low for it but could not find it. The man stepped from behind the rock and appealed to her to become his wife. The woman denied his request because she was not from his world. 

However, he insisted stating that he would return her sealskin to her in seven summers. She could then decide to remain or go. She reluctantly said yes. 

In time, they had a son. The mother shared stories of the creatures of her world with her son: walrus, seal, whale, and salmon. As time passed, her flesh began to dry out. At first it flaked, then cracked, the skin on her eyelids began to peel. Next, her hair began to fall out and she developed a limp. As each day passed, her eyes became more and more dull until she could barely see at all. 

Eight winters passed when seal woman confronted the old man, their argument awakened their son. Seal Woman wanted what she was made of returned to her, she wanted her sealskin. She had fulfilled her promise.The old man refused stating she would abandon them both. He then left the hut in anger. Their son was filled with sorrow over their arguing and cried himself back to sleep. 

Later that night the voice of the wind awakened the boy, calling out to him. He followed the sound to a cliff where he saw a large, old seal on a rock near shore. The grandfather seal was calling the boy. The boy scrambled down the cliff; at the base, he tripped over a bundle. As he unrolled it he held it to his nose, it smelled of his mother. He found her sealskin. As he hugged her sealskin, the love of his mother filled him with pain and joy as her soul passed through his. 

The boy climbed the cliff back to his house where he gave it to her and she quickly pulled it on. She scooped him up and ran to the sea. She swam with her son, who could breathe underwater, down to the underwater coves of the seals. 

Seven days and seven nights passed, during which in time, the luster came back to Seal Woman’s hair and eyes. Her body was soon restored and she no longer had a limp. At the end of the seventh day she had to return her son to the topside world where he belonged. She instructed him to touch those things she touched when he felt lonely and missed her. He would feel her presence and her love.

This story is about a sealwoman who has her sealskin stolen from her by a lonely fisherman. He promises to return it after 7 years as long as she lives with him for this time. The woman agrees and returns to his home. The sealwoman has a child and although content enough, she feels increasingly uncomfortable in the outer world. Her hair starts falling out, her eyelids start peeling and her skin cracks.

One night the child wakes up to hear arguing. It has been 7 years and the sealwoman is demanding that she have her sealskin back. "I want what I am made of returned to me" cries the sealwoman. The husband refuses to give his wife back the sealskin for fear that she will lose him. The child goes to sleep but wakes up in the night to hear the sound of the wind and goes out into the dark. He comes upon his mothers' sealskin and returns it to her. The sealwoman pulls on her sealskin, grabs her child and heads for the ocean. She breathes into the child's mouth 3 times and then dives deep into the waters. Together they swim until they are home with her family. - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-172-The+Sealwoman.html#sthash.CxjRWpvV.dpuf

This story is about a sealwoman who has her sealskin stolen from her by a lonely fisherman. He promises to return it after 7 years as long as she lives with him for this time. The woman agrees and returns to his home. The sealwoman has a child and although content enough, she feels increasingly uncomfortable in the outer world. Her hair starts falling out, her eyelids start peeling and her skin cracks.

One night the child wakes up to hear arguing. It has been 7 years and the sealwoman is demanding that she have her sealskin back. "I want what I am made of returned to me" cries the sealwoman. The husband refuses to give his wife back the sealskin for fear that she will lose him. The child goes to sleep but wakes up in the night to hear the sound of the wind and goes out into the dark. He comes upon his mothers' sealskin and returns it to her. The sealwoman pulls on her sealskin, grabs her child and heads for the ocean. She breathes into the child's mouth 3 times and then dives deep into the waters. Together they swim until they are home with her family. - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-172-The+Sealwoman.html#sthash.dO0XdKS1.dpuf

This story is about a sealwoman who has her sealskin stolen from her by a lonely fisherman. He promises to return it after 7 years as long as she lives with him for this time. The woman agrees and returns to his home. The sealwoman has a child and although content enough, she feels increasingly uncomfortable in the outer world. Her hair starts falling out, her eyelids start peeling and her skin cracks.

One night the child wakes up to hear arguing. It has been 7 years and the sealwoman is demanding that she have her sealskin back. "I want what I am made of returned to me" cries the sealwoman. The husband refuses to give his wife back the sealskin for fear that she will lose him. The child goes to sleep but wakes up in the night to hear the sound of the wind and goes out into the dark. He comes upon his mothers' sealskin and returns it to her. The sealwoman pulls on her sealskin, grabs her child and heads for the ocean. She breathes into the child's mouth 3 times and then dives deep into the waters. Together they swim until they are home with her family. - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-172-The+Sealwoman.html#sthash.CxjRWpvV.dpuf

Seal Skin Soul Skin - Egg Tempera on board - Catherine Meyers 2012

The Sun Vs The Rain

Spring is favourite time of the year, and one of my favourite cards out of the 22 Arcana, is the Sun.

I can not think of a more hopeful positive card that speaks of the life force. I couldn't have drawn a better card today, as my dear friend, lost another dear friend. It is a big loss for her, and especially for her friend's family.

We would never survive without the rain, and the sun. They need one another, and this is why things grow.  Well that's obvious you might think, but my point is we also need them both, like we need light and dark, life and death. The Sun transforms our darkness into light.

In order for human beings to love, and appreciate life, and how we cherish those we love, death gives life meaning.  We are filled and left with precious memories of the essence of those we hold close, in the small of our of hearts. This closeness can't be taken from us, and stays with us always. Those we love, live deep within in our hearts, always, and the sunlight of the Creator shines upon them, and like the sun, they watch over us.

No one wants to see another hurt or suffer. Death is something we all experience, it causes us to be acutely aware of our own mortality, and we must let those we love, go. Even though we know death is a part of the cycle of life, it doesn't make it any easier when we go through this experience. I think most of us would agree, that death itself isn't so difficult as suffering.

I know it may seem strange to be talking about death when the Sun card is so life affirming, but there is always the another side to every milestone in life, and with every card. The celebration of life is what I take from the Sun, with the knowledge that I can also accept death as part of life, even though I don't much like it, I believe there are worse things than death.

The story in Clarissa Pinkola Estes book, Women Who Run With The Wolves called Skeleton Woman has helped me to better understand death. I can't say we are exactly friends, death and I, but we are not enemies either, so that's a good start I think. In the mean time, I can, and will enjoy the sun, and all that is has to offer and give.

Skeleton Woman - Egg Tempera, 2011, Catherine Meyers