Page of Swords - Are The Storms of Life Washing You Away?

The Page of Wands is blowing up a storm. This card urges us to have courage, and honesty, appealing to our higher self, in the midst of turmoil, serious trouble, or what might even seem to be the end of all things we know and love. Much like the refugees fleeing for their lives from their war torn countries.

I used to have apocalyptic dreams a few years ago about Tsunamis. I don't know why I had these dreams and can only conjecture about their meaning.

Being an optimist by nature, who can be prone to an underlining depression, which I attribute to the affects of alcoholism within my immediate family. Sometimes it's just life that can get me down, trying to make sense of why bad things happen to good people all over the world.

Lately I've been really noticing and thinking about all of the catastrophic weather that has devastated many parts of the world. Everything from recent tornadoes in Texas, to floods in the British Isles, in the States right now, and yesterday there was a mild but nonetheless, ever threatening earthquake in the west coast of Canada, where there is a fault line that exists, running all the way up from the California coast.

Last night I found myself watching you-tube and a documentary about the massive tornado that happened in Joplin, Missouri  in 2011, which was a catastrophic EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that struck late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. This event in the US was the biggest tornado in history since 1947.

What I was very touched by, was how the residents of Joplin immediately helped one another, how ever they could, in the immediate aftermath of this catastrophe.

Today I was also reminded of the resilience within the human spirit, when I heard again, the re-broadcast of the interview with Wendel Price  who talked about the response to Hurricane Katerina in New Orleans, which was so inspiring, in knowing that, when we feel and think all hope is lost, it's not.

We all have storms in life, whether it be of a personal nature or that of the physical kind. How we respond to these after affects can either leave us broken and defeated, or strengthened and victorious. We can help others and get our focus on recovery, by being proactive, positive, and above all, inspiring hope.

The trials and storms of life can help us to respond in a way that honours the Spirit, or a Power greater than ourselves.

 

Two of Wands - Are You A Conscious Choice Maker?

Here we see Chiron the healer and teacher in the cave, well hidden from view. Jason stands with two burning wands held on either side. Jason has left his more base behaviours behind thanks to Chiron, and come out into the light on his own to face the world, to decide what direction he will take.

Behaviour that is part of our the human nature we all possess, often referred to as being our monkey mind, that behaves according to a fight or flight reaction, is instinctual, and somewhat opposed to the intellectual or intuitive and moral direction. But we all have choices to make in spite of our basic instincts.

We all can find ourselves in situations where humans are behaving badly, my mother use to call it "cuttin' up your didoes," it is displaying some kind of foolish and destructive antics in other words. This saying is of unknown origin, but related to the Greek legend of Dido, who committed suicide after she'd been abandoned by her husband. Bad behaviour stems from deep hurt of some kind. The bad behaviour can become so convoluted, that most of us have a difficult time feeling much compassion or understanding for another with whom we just want to get the heck away from, or we want retaliate with similar reactive behaviour.

Christmas seems to bring out the worst or the best in folks, being a time when emotions are often close to the surface. Many are of us are stressed, overtired, overwhelmed, and over spent. We can be depressed by unrealistic expectations never fulfilled, and wound up tight as a drum. Someone is sure to get their underwear in a knot, and then next thing you know, there's a big blow up.

Many adults I know that grew up in alcoholic homes, can recall how the Christmas tree often got fired out the door, and onto the street. Fortunately this is not one of my unpleasant memories.

We have a choice how we respond to someone else's bad behaviour when they are cuttin' up their didoes! We can react in kind to their inappropriate actions, which only escalates matters, or we can extend a hand of understanding and kindness.

Dido

This was my experience Christmas Day with another behaving badly. I offered understanding, and a big hug. I was then was shown tears and appreciation for doing so. It was an important lesson, for me mostly, on "becoming a conscious choice-maker."

"By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you and for those that are around you. And that’s all you need to do." ~ Deepak Chopra

Six of Pentacles - What's Love Got To Do With It?

Giving at Christmas is the spirit that seems to preoccupy most of us this time of year. Many have no material possessions to give, others have more than enough, and some are more interested in getting if, they are buying into the commercialism and consumerism of it all and have completely lost the message.

The Six of Pentacles is about generosity and really about love.

  “When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don't need material wealth. The most loving communities are often the poorest. If our own life is luxurious and wasteful, we can't approach poor people. If we love people, we want to identify with them and share with them.”
― Jean Vanier, Community And Growth

I have been very blessed and loved by many this past year, and I am so very grateful.
When people experience difficulty and extreme hardship. they we can find strength in their weakness, and become resilient, and find hope.

My prayer is to find spirit of love at Christmas or whatever holiday it is that we celebrate, that will last all through the year, every year.

Knight of Swords - Can You Have One Without The Other?

I relate very much to the Knight of Swords as it relates to Gemini, my Sun sign. According to Roman Mythology these inseparable brothers were considered the patrons of horses, a majestic creature I greatly  love and adore.  

Castor the mortal, and Polydeuces the Divine represent courage, adventure and change. Having a sense of adventure and being open to change can make us better people. When we can temper our intuition/emotion with our rational/intellectual mind and visa versa, this can help us to be aware of our behaviour and our mortal/divine nature.

This card brings to mind the Winter Solstice, with the presence of both light and dark in our lives.
Like the twin brothers it is a good reminder to me that I can't have one without the other, and I've learned to appreciate both individually, and simultaneously.
I hope you are looking forward to the future with adventure and change and I pray that you have courage.

The Hanged Man - Is Patience A Virtue?

"Patience is a virtue", is what I heard, from my grade nine geography teacher. She said it very quietly,  under her breath, but loudly enough for me to hear her. I wonder if she was saying this for her benefit or mine. It was probably for both, now that I think about it.

She was a good woman, kind, but rather at a loss as to how to manage a group of pubescent, out of control, angst ridden teenagers. I felt sorry for her. I never gave her any grief, and I think she appreciated that, but I always remembered what she said about patience.

Little did I know how true this is, and how very relevant and important it would be in my own life, as I'm certain it was in hers.

People are always waiting. We wait in lines, wait on hold, for phone calls, for kids, for parents and for patience itself.
It's something I had to practice very intently, because I was impatient. I wanted everything to happen yesterday. Particularly in relation to my recovery as an alcoholic. This was my biggest trial. I was waiting for  especially waiting for happiness, which seemed to be elusive to me.

I've learned to rest in situations, when I could potentially be very impatient. It still can be difficult for me, especially when I get frustrated. Being patient, just because, allows me to find out who I am.

The Hanged Man is about waiting and resting. Taking a step back. Chillaxing when you are mostly feeling that you live in a world that wants you to hurry up and wait. The world can also feel like it is moving to slow. Simultaneously it moves too fast, and time is passing in the blink of an eye. You can't slow down and you are never moving fast enough. This is the dichotomy of the world and of life.

The Hanged Man urges us to be patient, to rest, to take a time out to renew, restore ourselves before we move ahead, and so we can respond with clarity and discernment.

Christmas is a good time to rest, to take stock and enjoy yourself, take pleasure were you can, in spite of feeling like your life is hanging upside down.

Page of Swords - Not Thinkin' Right?

Sometimes we can think too much, especially if we have a lot of time on our hands, and are tending to live in our heads. We just ain't think' right. Going for a long walk, doing something physical, or creative, can clear our muddled thoughts, and get those the cob webs clean out of our mind.

This Mythic Page of Swords is embodied in the mythic figure of Zephyrus. Caught up in a west whirlwind, blowin' the bejesus clouds out of his way, and making clouds of his own. The West Wind is actually coming from his own mouth, which can mean, he has a propensity for gossip or might be the victim of gossip. This indicates his immaturity and unbridled nature. He stirs up the elements, though he calms down later on once he meets the love of his life. In the mean time, he has some good ideas and lots of energy which needs to be positively nurtured and channeled, otherwise he can be his own worst enemy.

I can relate to this card today. I've been spending too much time in my head lately, so I started a creative project to help channel my energy, and give my brain a kind of meditative time out. I've been making baskets again which is a very nurturing activity.

Ten of Wands - What's The Next Big Thing?

Geez, it almost pains me to look at this card. It's not as negative or overwhelming as it appears, and isn't what it seems, but it is a situation for concern.

Jason has his Golden Fleece, and his great vessel, the Argo, is worse for wear after the long and intrepid voyage. Now his fellow Argonauts seem nowhere to be found. Perhaps they're burnt out, and gone back to their ordinary lives, having grown wearisome of Jason, and his next big adventure. Jason appears to be almost imprisoned, and overwhelmed by his own creative thought, surrounded by the ten blazing wands. The Golden Fleece appears to be discarded on the ground and all but forgotten.

At the beginning of the quest, Jason's expectations were extremely high. He was full of excitement, expectation. with a thrilling and contagious sense of great adventure. He'd been buoyed up by his mates, who believed in him, and that he'd be victorious. He was THE MAN!

The triumphant victory of obtaining the Golden Fleece and overcoming everything else along the way has left Jason feeling that it is all rather anti-climatic  He is no doubt thinking to himself, ok what now? What's the next big thing? It that all there is?
This kind of thinking is a self-inflicted pressure we can impose upon ourselves when we achieve our goals,  have found ourselves the center of attention, with people singing our praises. Being in this state of hyper-vigilance, and an adrenaline rush, is addictive. We find we are always looking for the next bigger and better thing.This state of hyper-vigilance can be very exhausting, for yourself, and for others.

There might be feeling of boredom, when in actual fact, you might find that boredom is the opportunity to simply live life on life's terms. Finding a deep contentment and serenity that extends it's hand to us, if we can accept it, is what I believe to be, one of the best secrets to happiness.