Page of Cups - Facing the Gorgon - Unexpected News

Well I got unexpected news today, as the Page of Cups indicates, of a spiritual nature. Not before going into my anxiety panic attack first. This time it was different. I got real quiet, and mindful within myself. Then I said a prayer. These two actions made the difference for me. My prayers were answered immediately, the anxiety left, once I decided to ignore my panic, and did what I had to do. Don't you wish that could happen all the time? I do think it does, for me, but I don't always take note of it in a real conscious way, until later. What happened today was different, and I know I need to nurture this kind of transitional shift within.

This Page speaks about the gentle stirrings, and nurturing self-care. It is the renewal of self-love and having a general interest in the body, the environment, and a focus on emotional pleasure rather than on pain or  painful memories.

I love all the Pages in the Tarot. They are youthful, possessing innocence, and a purity of heart. They always bring a message for us, because they are messengers and capture the essence of transition.

The Page of Cups will eventually become the truly romantic spirit in the form of the Knight of Cups, who makes the world a better place full of vibrancy and colour.. He will go onto slay the Gorgon Medusa, that butt ugly she-monster, with those snakes comin' out of her head.Ugh, she real scary ugly!

Well I didn't slay the Gorgon today but honestly it almost felt that way because I faced my fear, turned it over, and like Vasalisa The Wise with the doll in her pocket, I listened to the still quiet voice that helped me find my way, and I didn't forget to say my prayers.

Anne Lamott may favourite author wrote a great book, Help, Thanks, Wow. She talks about how these three words are her most frequently said prayers. I realized today they have also become mine.
What are your prayers? Do you listen to that still quiet voice?

Vasalisa The Wise-Egg Tempera, 2012 - Catherine Meyers

The Sun - Transformation

It's lovely to see the sun getting stronger. It's a cold day here in Nova Scotia, and going to warm up tomorrow, a much welcome relief, after trying to get the old wood stove geared up this morning. I felt like I might freeze my granny's preserves!

Psychologically I got warmed up when I drew The Sun, such a positive card, full of powerful energy, in the midst of a Winter deep freeze. I sure can use the positive energy, growth, and contentment, preoccupying my mind these days.

My friend has a business called the Sun, Moon and Stars. I think this is a great name for a gift shop because these celestial bodies go together in the natural order the things. I often can't think of one without the other. They always seem to be grouped together.

 The Bible refers to them in this prediction.. 

 " And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;" - Luke 21:25 from the King James Version
Hmmm sounds about right these days.

The sky is full of story. Everyone interprets and experiences these stories differently. Traditional ancient cultures were are filled with Mythology and stories about the relationship between  the Sun, Moon and Stars, how they affect and effect the universe, and our world. To some, The Star represents Hope, The Moon Dreams and the Sun Happiness. 

These three Marjor Arcana cards, The Star, The Moon and The Sun are in successive order, following one another. 
In the Mythic Tarot the Sun, as Apollo as he plays his harp, it is music to our ears, transforming darkness into light and meaning. We no longer are so fearful; it is replaced with hope, faith, and trust. 
Our personal growth and confidence gives the momentum needed to embark on the exciting adventure of transformation.

Mariposa - Butter Fly Woman - Egg Tempera , 2013 -Catherine Meyers

The Lovers - Yes No Maybe

The past week I've been having dreams about relationships, and simultaneously I've been immersing my thoughts and time spent in self-growth. Self-growth and 'love' relationships is nothing new for me really, been involved with both, most of my life. The love stuff I've not been not successful with by the way, except once, and it is why I have been single most all of my life, but I've been making ongoing progress in the self-growth department over the years.

First thing this morning I heard a magnificent version of Adele's " Rollin' In The Deep " by the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, that knocked my socks off. It got me thinking, ya, I kind of feel this way about love. I'm not a cynic or jaded and I do believe people fall in love, and stay together. Unfortunately chances are slim and  statistics support that. Then this morning for my daily draw, I picked The Lovers from my Mythic Tarot.

The cup of love symbolizes relationships. and the Lovers card can be a very heady for us, in that when we see it, it can immediately invoke a fluttering of the heart kind with excitement. Like when you first see 'the one'. I've done that more than a couple of times. Those hormones kick in and away we go. We think perhaps there is love on the horizon. And there is, but perhaps not in the way we expect. It's tempting to be in love with love, but that doesn't last realistically. There is so much hype in our culture about falling in love, but not many of us stay together for the long haul, till death do us part.

The Lovers is a card of choice. If we don't have any positive options to choose from, then we choose not to choose, because this is the best decision for us, especially when it comes to relationships. As Bill Shakespeare said in his play, The Taming of The Shrew, 'there is small choice in rotten apples'. To some this may sound rather jaded, but it is really about making the right choice for ourselves, taking responsibility for our own happiness. If we are not happy within ourselves no amount of lovin' can truly bring happiness.

We need maturity, discernment, determination, courage, and spiritual growth to make a relationship work, long before we choose. I need to reflect and consider all these things, and ask myself am I ready? Is this person good and match for me? Can I make compromise and adjust?
I'll keep my answer close to my chest.

King of Swords - When The Student Is Ready The Teacher Will Appear

Truth? I am little intimidated by the King of Swords, or the folks with this personality type. When I really dig into the reason why, I think it is because I immediately begin to compare myself intellectually, and presume I am not on the same intellectual level as this person. Comparing ourselves to others is a basic common human character defect. The more insecure within ourselves, the more we compare.This is not a healthy out look I know, but it's true. It is futile to compare ourselves to another. It will always leave us feeling less than, that we just don't nor can we ever measure up to an unachievable standard, that really is an image that exists in our minds.

The King of Swords can be greatly admired for his creative intellect, and attractive, dynamic leadership qualities, but not so much for his lack of ability to respond to his own emotion, or for considering the feelings of another. He appears to be emotionally cut off, relying on his intellect for success, as opposed to his heart, although his ideals, and sense of fairness are very lofty and well intended.

He appears to be in harmony or perhaps likes harmony in his environment. No one is perfect I know, but he sure can give off that impression, as he is Odysseus, crafty, guileless, known as the Wiley one. Fact is, this King is a wanderer, not rooted is his heart, nor in his relationships. He's not big on empathy and compassion, but is known for his decency and fairness. He's a bit of an enigma and a contradiction. 

We all have contradicting traits. The message here for me is to be aware of these traits, and to be compassionate toward others, and toward myself for these shortcomings, and character defects. No one including myself should be intimidated by another's personality, and I certainly hope no one is intimidated by mine.
There is so much to learn, from people we admire and  love, and sometimes especially from those we do not love or admire, they have much to teach us. When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

Ace of Wands - Inspiration Vs Motivation

The Ace of Wands is a welcome card this morning, as it is embodies the well spring of creative energy, and is all that individuals can ask for, especially when taking on creative endeavours. Like all Aces, it brings new beginnings with raw energy. Here is abundant growth, imagination, and inspirational vision propelled by that abounding energy.

Indicated in this card, that the goal may be difficult to attain, and has not yet been manifested in reality. Most important though, is that we move forward with confidence, and take the risk, whether we reach our goal or not. There will always be a next time.

Many folks will say, I just can't seem to get inspired, or I need to be inspired to create. Personally I know I don't wait for inspiration. I believe it is always there at the surface. Motivation and inspiration follow not necessarily in this order, but I do need to get started, to keep at it, and follow through.

The bottom line is, I know no one else is going to do it for me. I am the only one responsible for doing the creative work necessary to actualize my creative vision, and I would get nothing accomplished if I waited to get motivated or inspired. That said, I think I was born inspired to be creative, because inspiration comes from the soul, and I am following the creative path to where I want to go. My motivation is more about the discipline to get the work done.

I have read that motivation and inspiration are very different. Motivation is an external  push and inspiration comes from spirit and is an internal pull. I do believe this is true. However I can be inspired to create internally, but it doesn't mean my inspiration will be obviously manifested or apparent, perhaps it's hidden for one reason or another. We can't always feel inspired. This is when motivation can pick up the slack, and is the back up for me to follow through. Ultimately I think inspiration is the catalyst for my motivation.

What inspires and motivates you?

Three of Wands - The Work Ahead

It was my mother's Birthday yesterday. She would have been 103 years old. My mother was my mentor, my inspiration. She had a saying, that she would often repeat to me. " You can only go down so far, before you start to come back up." My mother set a great example for me, of what is means to have inner strength, fortitude, perseverance, and persistence.

 I heard something today from Marie Foleo. She spoke of what her mother use to say. " Everything is figureoutable." This has stayed with me all day.

When we have a dream, and a goal it can be overwhelming, and we can begin to doubt that we are ever going to be able to achieve it. It helps a whole lot to be aware of how to break things down in measurable, realistic, achievable steps, and objectives. Many of us grow up not knowing how to do this, and have to learn it from someone who has been there, and continue learning.

Tonight after drawing the Three of Wands, it became clear to me. It was an affirmation and a confirmation as  being a positive and hopeful card, indicating the initial stages of substantive ideas or project, and the satisfaction that comes with this, but at the same time, it clearly points to the work ahead. The card is a good reminder that the follow through is going to involve  creative confidence at the start, but then creative potential and fulfillment can come to a stand still, if we can't accept and allow for the tests that challenge and stretch our ideas as individuals. We cannot allow ourselves to give up, all because we are feeling overwhelmed and burdened by fear of failure or perhaps fear of success.

This is what life is like, lots of emotional ups and downs, hurdles to jump over, and under. We must find ways to go around, bob and weave. But we need to keep going, keep hands on the plow, and our eyes on the prize. Because I know, understand and believe that everything is figureoutable, and you can only go so far down before you start to come back up. This allows us to negotiate from a position of strength.

The Devil - In The Details

We got off pretty darn good compared to others in the Maritimes, after the great big snow dump yesterday. Some folks got 100cm in a week.
Oh boy, seemed if there was anything that could go wrong this morning, is sure had a good kick at the can. Feeling good now that things worked out, and my good neighbour came, and plowed my driveway. After I shoveled, got myself dug out, and after jumping through a number of hoops, I finally got something to eat around 1:30 p.m. I made myself some bacon and eggs with homemade biscuits and piping hot coffee.  Ahhh what comfort. If you can't take good care of yourself who will?

So I ask, why does all this crap happen? Like Harold Kushner's book, I also ask the question, Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? Is it the devil? Does God not like me? I don't believe in the Devil the way he is often depicted and thought of traditionally in our Western culture. The Devil nor God have nothing to do with these events. I don't have any pat answers, but you know, life is difficult enough without the darn Devil added to the mix, or blaming God. The Devil is in the details of life and is my monkey brain. . These details can either drive us down into the pit, or make us stronger. Focusing on the positive and being grateful for the simple things brings happiness and lightens our burden.

 I try real hard to remain the eternal optimistic. I have faith in my Creator and in myself. I manage to get through the storms and other irritations of life. Don't get me wrong it isn't easy. Life is not easy. But it is easier accepting life on life's terms, rather than being burdened with a big messy living problem, not having faith..

Often when this card comes up in a reading, people get jittery, full of dread and fear. It is a card about bondage to people, places, and things, that we allow ourselves to be controlled by. If we have hit a bottom and we are sick from these things controlling our lives, mentally, physically, or spiritually, we can choose to reach out for help or we can choose to try and fix the problem using our own willpower. Sometimes this works, some times not, depending on the kind bondage we are in.

Take the disease of alcoholism. Willpower just doesn't work in this situation, nor with any other kind of disease, in thinking that if we simply exercise our willpower, we will be able to overcome our affliction. Try willpower next time you have diarrhea. Good luck with that.