Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Emperor - The Father Principle




When I drew this card I admit, I wished I'd drawn the Empress instead. However this card challenges me to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the father principle, and come to terms with it's negative and positive forms.

Zeus mirrors the image of the experience of fathering that embodies our spiritual ideals, ethical codes and points to our capacity and ability to be self-sufficient in the world.

The masculine principle present in all human beings fosters self-respect to meet all of life's challenges. We can't have the masculine without the feminine principle, also present within every human being. There are both positive and negative attributes to both principles.

The Emperor can be tyrannical, rigid and self-righteous, but also ethical, without blind instinct and urges us to not blame our problems on others, because we can't find the inner experience of strength that is embodied by the father.

We all bring our own issues and concerns surrounding our relationship with  our mothers and our fathers. They shape us regardless if they were present or not, in our lives growing up. That said, we are our own individual.

I believe that our inner man and inner woman have been at war and divided for too long, each one wounded, tired and in need of care. We all need to reconnect with the inner feminine with strength and find that inner man with heart.



The Emperor - Egg Tempera on Porcelain 6"x 6" 2016 - Catherine Meyers



Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Six of Swords - The Peaceful Passage


This is not what you'd call a happy card but harmony is very much indicated and we are coming to terms with existing limitations. The Six of Swords represents personal growth, transition and rite of passage.

Orestes is focused on his goal, he stands dignified and alone. He is steadfast, confident and solidly grounded within himself, signifying a tranquil mind, and body. This individual has an acceptance and insightful comprehension of how the pattern of life works. He understands how he got to where he is now.

The body, mind, and soul work together in order to have the capacity to understand difficulties and help reduce anxiety-provoking events to move us toward a peaceful passage retaining our dignity and self-respect.

As a 63 year old woman I have been involved with personal growth, experienced many turbulent and challenging transitions, and many rites of passage throughout my life. The experiences of my youth, and during middle age have been quite different then from now, as a crone. It is a right of passage not unlike the other stages in the cycle of life, but there is much less anxiety-provoking turbulence that stemmed from my yearning to reconnect with the Divine Feminine.

Finding my way through that peaceful passage along the journey, I attribute this peaceful passage to learning how to reconnect with the sacred, which is described this way in The Heroine's Journey.

"The sacred dimension is embodied, and the soul of a human being as well as in our culture cannot evolve if the body is not reclaimed and honoured. Many men and women are dreaming about the Goddess; She is a projection of the feminine principle that needs restoration in our culture. She takes many forms embodied in the rich symbols of a person's heritage."
                                                    -The Heroine's Journey, Maureen Murdock


Minudie - Photo - Alan Shepard

Monday, September 19, 2016

Knight of Swords - "Shit Happens"





Change can be scary. I'm not sure it can be anything else. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming.
When change comes it can feel like our life is in total chaos, and it probably is, but I can't plan for how I am going to deal with it all, because life happens in unpredictable sometimes messy ways, but I can do things to prepare myself. One thing that is predictable is that change happens. As my old friend Charlie once said to me, at a time in my life of deep sorrow, "shit happens". He was right, that never changes".

The Knight of Swords is all about how we adapt and accept turbulent change. This card represents motion, and mercurial energy, based on the element of air, signifying a duplicity in the realm of the mind, and our ability to move with changes, that lead to a broader vision of life.

If we aren't open to change in life, we get stuck. We base our decisions on opinions that are reactionary and often hasty, because we are fearful of change and want to maintain some semblance of control.We just want to escape the mess.

The three mainstays in life that continue to enable me to accept disruptive and fluctuating change, are prayer, persistence and simple trust.

I have come to understand that tribulation gives me the opportunity to increase my patience, with patience comes experience, and with experience comes hope.

The Knight of Swords represents Gemini the identical Warrior twins and mythic figures of the quarrelsome Dioscuri, Polydeuces and Castor. Being a Gemini myself I understand this card all too well. I am grateful to have taken the road less traveled that has given me a broader vision of life.



Friday, September 16, 2016

Ace of Wands - Grandmother Moon




A card embodying the king of the gods, Zeus, the 'invisible creative power that generated the manifest universe'. It also represents our own creative power of our imagination. Symbolizing the beginning of a great journey into the world of vision and imagination.

This Harvest Moon that I call Grandmother Moon is a great time to tap into our imagination and creative, intuitive impulses, and embark on an adventure in pursuit of our own vision. It's a time of an emotional high tide. New things are always possible, and we can challenge and overcome what we perceive to be as concrete limitations, with faith and trust that life will never be the same again.

Grandmother Moon - Photo - Catherine Meyer 2016


This kind of challenging adventure might feel scary and risky. I believe any challenge worth while should feel a little scary, otherwise we will probably never get out of our comfort zone, and it probably isn't really a worthwhile pursuit.

Inspiration and creation with raw energy that abounds are all represented in the ace. Everything is springing to life in the Ace of Wands. Aces signify largesse and new beginnings.

The Last Timber Wolf - Colour Pencil - Catherine Meyers

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Queen of Wands- The Sword of Truth Sharpened with Discernment




It's a long time since I pulled a sleepless all-niter. I sure as shoot don't miss those days! But that's what happened last night. It certainly wasn't anything like the all-niters I pulled back in my drinking days! This one was full of happiness and gratitude to be able help out my very good friends.

My friends needed me to travel with them to the airport where they would be taking the plane to visit family out West and their flight would be leaving at 5:20 a.m. this morning. It meant I left with them in their car at 1:30 a.m. and my friend drove us all for 3 hours.We arrived at the airport at 4: 30 a.m. and then I drove three hours back home after I left them to catch their flight.

 I was not having any problems staying awake, until about three quarters of the way home when, I had to fight the affect of my sleep deprivation. I was very grateful to make it home safely and after doing a few things before I flopped into my bed, I stayed there for a few hours and it was sure nice to finally get horizontal. I'll sure be hitin' the ole fart sack early tonight!

My friends very generously have lent me their car while they are away, which I so appreciate, as I have been without a vehicle for a number of months; not a situation I am not unfamiliar with, which it can get very wearisome and trying. It's hard to feel dependent on others to give you lifts or to help you out. It is a very good feeling to be able to return the favour. That said, it's also good to know that there really are folks that are willing to generously give to others, out of the goodness of their heart, when you are struggling.

 My sweet and good friends have always exemplified this kind of generosity of heart and spirit and I am so very grateful to be so blessed have them in my life.
My friends share many similar qualities of the Queen of Wands embodied by the Mythic figure of Penelope.

So after all is said and done, we now get to the Queen of Wands, who is referred to as The Sunshine Lady. She exhibits a loyalty that warms and heartens as it inspires. She is ever faithful and strong.

The Queen of Wands in some ways is the ancient figure of the 'superwoman'. However this does not mean that she has illusions about herself or reality. She has her feet planted firmly on the ground, that has come from her hard won life experience. She is the kind of person I think many can aspire to be.

This Queen lives her life with what Maureen Murdock calls in her book The Heroine's Journey, " a Spirituality of Creativity." She manifests the creative feminine. Her imagination and intuition makes her strong, and she holds her great strength and energy within. She devotes herself to what she is passionate about and what she has given her heart to in life.

I think The Queen of Wands is the truest kind of Heroine who has influence, because she has traveled the difficult path of life, first being rejected and vilified by her father as a child, solely based on the fact she was born female.

 Penelope, wife of the so called hero, king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology) was off doing the ugly business of war, thought her husband must be dead, as she heard nothing from him for 20 years. In fact he'd left her alone to run the island kingdom with only her young son to help her. She was living life as a single mum while her wandering husband left her and his son to fend for themselves.

 In spite of having many suitors Penelope continued to have a loyal faithfulness toward her absentee husband, believing that he would one day return.

 The Queen of Wands is a magnetic woman who has has learned to rule her own world with ingenuity, strength, creativity and tireless energy. She is self-confident and is full of warmth and life. She has found her own voice.
 The Queen of Wands has carried her own sword of truth and sharpened her blade with discernment.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Eight of Cups - Psyche's Road of Trials


Psyche, like Persephone has her own journey to take, that involves disappointment, escapism and ultimately change.

The Moon lights Psyche's way in spite of her not knowing what lies in wait, as she descends the steps into darkness, and is fearful that she may not return and might face imminent death.

She's been on a quest for love that involves healing a split. She's been under the illusion that she needs to over ride her feelings, her intuition, and the dreams that inform her of the truth of life. She does not have answers, but she knows she must have courage, a willingness to listen to her inner wisdom, and to the wisdom of the earth that begs for change.

Psyche does eventually return, a changed individual, after learning the task of discrimination, how to curb her generosity, to set boundaries, and to say no. She has found her way  on the road of trials and she is strengthened, healed and transformed, because she has endured. Her search for illusory love has been de-mythologized, resulting in her own autonomy, achievement and nurturance.  Eros and Psyche are no longer split and have been reunited within herself.

" If you travel far enough, one day you will recognize yourself coming down the road to meet yourself, And you will say-YES
                                          - Marion Woodman

Lot's Wife

Somewhere up the road
in another voice
and another language
she waits for another time
and the washing of the feet
while I, salt tear woman-size,
stand solidified, Lot's wife,
looking back at my flaming city
valleys and mountains and plains
away. Stand turning,
millenial weight of years turning
to the distant waiting epochs
lives with no names
falling and tumbling
down rock encrusted hills
woman without end
her rhymings going with her
her rememberings,
her hard words, her soft cries, all our unheard
the ways I am hearing
the silenced sounds of women
beginning to break open
and be heard deep and wide.
Full turning, one step forward,
one more and yet another,
I move up the road
to her who I am
and am not yet.
                        Rhett Kelly

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Ten of Wands - Discernment Vs Hyper-vigilance


Jason looks to be contemplative, depressed and even bored by those burning wands surrounding him. Perhaps he's feeling upon his return from the big adventure, and having finally laid claim to the much coveted and sought after Golden Fleece, it's all a bit anticlimactic. His harrowing adventure is over, and he's asking himself what now?

Fact is though he's worn himself out. This mammoth undertaking has taken a toll on him in more ways than one, it's affected his friends and his great vessel the Argos, is no longer sea worthy and beyond repair.

We all have moments like this. After we've accomplished goals that have greatly challenged us to a point were perhaps we've wondered if we can overcome all these challenges and knowing we have more to face. There are moments of doubt. We might wonder if we've taken on too much, and sometimes we have. I know I've certainly had times like this, and it can be hard to admit that we need to stop what we're doing and take a different course of action; one that is healthier and results in us being happier.

Getting addicted to a state of hyper-vigilance is not healthy, and only brings a brief happiness, until we can find the next high.
We might feel if we can't have that adrenaline rush that comes from danger or taking on too much, we feel end up feeling bored and depressed.

But I don't think this is boredom. In actual fact, this is just life, and living in the moment where things go quiet, and there are rewards to be found in reflection, or simply to relaxation and taking time out, to get comfortable in our own skin. Go for a long walk outdoors in nature that heals the troubled soul. Listen to our heartbeat and that still quiet voice that can bring discernment.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

King of Wands - The Spirituality of Imperfection



The King of Wands, the counter part to the Queen of Wands ( The Sunshine Lady) and both are symbolic of the creative imagination. This card also embodies a combination of positive and negative characteristics, not unlike most of us. It can be difficult to come to terms with some of these and easier to accept other personality traits within this individual.

What can be very frustrating about the King of Wands is to clearly recognize the strong leadership qualities and capacities that are apparent in someone who could be a heroic figure, a shaper of world events, and has the power to be a visionary influence, having an infectious personality that can be very convincing to generate change.

Here is the caveat. The fact that he/she is intolerant of limitation, impatient, is certain that they are right, and is an unquestionable bad loser. These character defects can undermine and be very detrimental to his or her relationships.

Though we are not the same in our personalities, we share in common the quality of imperfection. We are all human, need to remain humble, and need to have a sense of humour. These are the life tools and qualities that real heroes and heroines possess.