Six of Pentacles - What A Wonderful World

Such a lovely card to draw on this beautiful Spring day. I am feeling all is right with the world. I know this might be seem to some as a naive outlook. I am not a Pollyanna, and I honestly don't always feel this way, but I do hold tightly to the belief that our perceptions define our reality, and so I choose to see things in a positive light, much the way children do with innocence, joy, and purity of heart.

Yesterday I spent the day with the two children I mind, who have become such a light, and help me to live in appreciation of the unconditional generousity of the present moment available to me, if I choose to accept and give it to myself, and to others.

The Six of Pentacles is the card of generousity and harmony. The giver of the gift is what is essential to generousity, not the gift of the giver. Some days we are the prince, and other days, the pauper.
  This kind of generousity gives one the sense, that harmony is truly possible within the world, regardless if you are the giver or recipient of the gift, because it is given in the spirit of unconditional love.

I am also reminded of the love that the Creator has for us. It is given freely and unconditionally, not in spite of who and what we are, but because of who and what we are. If we could all aspire to live this way, what a wonderful world it truly would be.

Wheel of Fortune - Love-Go-Round

Yesterday I saw this quote by Marianne Williamson.

" Until seeing someone's darkness, you don't really know who they are. Until forgiving someone's darkness, you don't really know what love is." - Marianne Williamson

This description parallels the Wheel of Fortune, in that we never know what we are going to get, when it comes to life, or love. It is in acceptance where love lies. I am not referring to accepting injustice. But knowing what we can and cannot accept or change, and knowing the difference. Loving means acceptance of the good, bad and the ugly. Acceptance, and forgiveness with detachment does not exclude love, but includes and precisely defines love, in a way that is healthy for all concerned, and brings peace if we make an effort to change what we can. The only person we can truly change is ourselves.

The Emperor - A Blues Man of The Mind

Drawing this card today I immediately thought of how I learned of an man yesterday, who reflects the positive qualities of the Emperor card. I'm certain he would never consider himself an Emperor, but he embodies what I would expect to find in this mythic figure. His name is Dr. Cornell West. He is not an Emperor, but a very fine human being, who has the courage to fight for social justice. Here is a description of what he is, and some of his quotes that might give you an idea of what I am talking about.

He is a lover of music. " I am a jazz man in a world of ideas. "
" I am a blues man of the mind. "

He is a scholar. " Deep education requires a habitual vision of greatness. "

He is an activist. " Justice is what love looks like in public "

He is a servant. " You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. "  "You can't save the people if you don't serve the people. "

Queen of Cups - ' This Is Love Not Fear '

The second Queen that has come up for me this week. The Queen of Cups is a very special one, because she is the Queen who represents the emotional life.

I am no intellectual. I do however have a deep thirst for knowledge, and life long learning, essential to my intellectual intelligence. Because I am person who has a stronger emotional intelligence, rather than intellectual intelligence, my emotional life is of great import to me.

 The workings of the inner life isn't about always wearing my emotion on my sleeve, but being able to know, understand and feel compassion, vulnerability and peace. I believe living a creative life is also manifested through emotional intelligence.

Today I saw this beautiful interview, done by Marie Forleo, with her mentor and Yoga teacher, Colleen Saidman. What she spoke about truly struck a deep a chord within me. I realized what she conveyed, was all that the Queen of Cups embodies and inspires, like the Queen of Cups, 'she allows beauty and sadness to touch her, as she knows this is love not fear.'

Queen of Pentacles - The Strawberry Moon

I think it is fitting to draw the Queen of Pentacles during the Strawberry Moon, or sometimes referred to the Hot Moon or Rose Moon. The Queen being woman with deep connection to the earth and all it's fecundity. She is really represents the Mother of all, or what many refer to as being Mother Earth.

This is the month of my birth, June 4th 1953. I was two days late from being born on the Queen's Jubilee, born the biggest hairy baby in the hospital  at the time, shall we say, with a full head of hair, weighing 12 pounds. I am not so often late any more, as I have decreased my procrastination affliction, my hair is thinning, and I could still stand to loose a few pounds!

I love seeing all the new growth of trees, flowers and everything else that comes to life in the Spring, and the smell of the earth after a rain is intoxicating. Getting my hands and toes into the new earth with all of it's healing properties really lifts the spirits, and always reminds me how I need to stay grounded in the earth, and to do what I must to maintain a stable and healthy lifestyle.

Life is unpredictable and things happen to threaten our sense of security and stability. But if I can live my life as a loose garment, and go with the flow, this is where my sense of security through connection, can reside, built on the firm foundation of faith, and trust in my relationships with myself, with others, and with the God of my understanding.

Sitting Among  Heart Berries - http://www.leahdorion.ca/

Seven of Pentacles - Seven Directions - Every Thing Is Connected

Pentacles concern our physical selves-all things connected to the earth element.

In this scenario we see an offering of the Seventh Golden Pentacle from Queen Pasiphae to Daedalus. He can choose to either accept or decline this generous gift. Daedalus looks like he is suspiciously contemplating whether or not to accept, as he is wondering what Queen Pasiphae's intention is, in offering him this Seventh Golden Pentacle.

In our Western culture we are more concerned with getting as opposed to giving, generousity is seen as suspect and not perceived as an essential virtue. Generousity involves risk for the giver and for the receiver, or both. But does this mean we should never accept generousity or be generous ourselves? We can either fail or be rewarded by generousity, depending on our attitude toward this virtue. The Seven of Pentacles warns against having a flawed character, that exhibits jealousy, greed, selfishness, and betrayal,

I love learning about the Lakota traditions. I see ancient cultures, such as the Lakota, as being very easy to identify with, and are aligned with my own spirituality. When I saw today's card that I drew this morning, it made me think about the sacred number seven, and about the meaning of Seven Directions within the spiritual tradition of the Lakota/ Souix. This card also brings to my mind the number four which is also of very especial significance to the Lakota. relating to the Four Directions.

I have always been very deeply drawn to circles of every kind.
From our formative years, through ages four to seven, artwork in the pre-schematic stage refers to children having a proclivity to draw representational images resembling symbols, often are in the form of a circle, these images may only be understood by the child, and often reflect elements in nature.

In light of this innate ability, and desire for humans to draw the circle, it makes sense that the circle would represent an ancient sacred symbol, inherently found throughout the universe, and within the world.

The Medicine Wheel is the most commonly found sacred symbol used by the Lakota to act as an important spiritual guide, and directly reflects the interconnectedness and interdependency of all living things. According to the Lakota tradition, the natural law of generousity states, that energy we use to communicate, returns to us fourfold. If we reflect the seven virtues, of prayer, respect, compassion, honesty, generousity, humility, and wisdom when communicating, this will in turn effectively help us to communicate, and make decisions that will benefit everyone. The Seventh Direction is centered around taking care of our mind, body, heart and soul. We are all part of a greater whole, and everything is connected. I believe knowing this, is a very much needed thing, in a world that is increasingly more disconnected an many ways, in spite of the "internet of things" being the way of the world.

" Nature projects the state of being in our inner world around us to the world around us. "
                                                                      -  David Little Elk

The Hermit - My Default Setting

The Hermit is a great example of how, and where to find a resource for serenity, peace of mind, and inner strength. I had a sleep deprived past four days, late nights with very early mornings and was having some real anxiety about a few things. This is not a good combination and makes me think of the old acronym and tool for self-care, and are often indicators of what is bothering us and why. I heard it many years ago. H.A.L.T. stands for being too hungry, angry, lonely and tired. I could describe myself as being three out of these four states this past week up until today.

I've always had an aversion toward dentists and considering the expense, I just could not afford to go and get my teeth looked after. It was easy to procrastinate, which only complicates matters.. This caused me a lot of negative feelings surrounding my self-esteem and sometimes a low level depression.  I would even have frequent dreams about loosing my teeth, and so it weighed heavily on my mind.

This month I had to finally give in and find the courage within myself to address some serious dental problems and go for an appointment. This circumstance all added to my anxiety and stress. Before my appointment I practiced breathing, positive self-talk, prayer, and talking to a close friend about my dentist aversion, and phobia. I had to draw upon what I'll call my "Inner Hermit" for strength. It paid off, and I got through the ordeal. I admit my nerves were a little frayed afterward, due to the combination of being hungry, lonely, tired and just to top it off, to make my condition complete, I met up with someone I don't much like, who insulted me, and filled that angry space, left in the acronym, by making a tactless comment about my "buck teeth". I laugh about it now, but I could have easily lashed back with a remark reflecting resentment. Resentment is not a luxury I can afford., and what would be the point. I prefer to draw on my inner hermit, which I think has mostly become my default setting.

Tonight I'm 100 % improved. I had a good supper, I reached out to talk to a good friend, and plan on having a restful sleep. Oh, and I'll be flossing and brushing!