Judgement - Gratitude-Joy-Generousity

Judgment

I rarely draw the Major Arcana card of Judgement. In the six months and seven days I have had this blog, today is the third time the Judgement card has come up. In is consistent with the theme of my recent posts and what I have been thinking about lately, transformation, forgiveness, and thriving.

Transformation is change yes, and it is also about growth, and becoming a new creature, much like the chrysalis. Transformation can be painful, and often is. It can be slow or fast. Sometimes we don't realize we have been transformed until it has happened, or we can know immediately, deep within our being when some event has happened, that we will never be the same person again.

There have been a number of trans-formative points and periods in my life. Some left me feeling so devastated and full of sorrow, I thought I'd never recovery from, and I wanted to give up. I did recover, I didn't give up, and eventually I became a stronger person.

 Other transforming situations were so challenging and scarey, they tested my limitations, that mostly existed in my mind. I found out how badly I really wanted something, and how hard I was willing to work at getting it. I also learned what I was really capable of when I applied myself, and this gave me the courage, determination, and persistence to continue.

Transformation is a powerful event. How it plays out is directly proportional to my attitude. These three things are what helped me to transform my life, and will continue to do so..

• Gratitude, and focusing my attention on what I have, as opposed to what I do not have.
• Altruistic joy, fixing my attention on the happiness and success of others, because inflicting unhappiness on others will never bring me happiness
• Abundance or generousity, and sharing with others no matter how much or how little I have.

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The Empress

The Major Arcana card of the Empress or Demeter follows and completely trusts her inner voice, vision and values. Her connection to the good earth is deep and strong. She loves passionately, lives by her instinct, and intuition.

Living a life of abundance and growth is paramount to her, as she is the Mother of all and desires to provide for her children who dwell on the earth both spiritually and physically.


The Empress urges us to listen to our own instinct, and to the practical wisdom of nature. If we do not, we can loose our way, becoming bitter and resentful.  She reminds us that the cycles of life are always changing; we must accept and adapt to beginnings and endings.

The Empress is the Wild Woman, the Wolf Woman, La Loba the one who howls, and finds her own pack.

Queen of Pentacles - Generousity

Here's one of my favourite Queens. She's has great feminine strength, is sensual and an earthy, hard working woman, who loves the abundance and luxuries of life. The Queen of Pentacles is generous of heart, and always ready to quickly share with others. She is a true patron of the arts and charity. She is stable, receptive, and symbolizes the sensuous elements of the earth.

Generousity is putting our gratitude into action otherwise it is just a pleasant emotion. I don't believe we can be truly grateful if we are not generous. My Creator, and so many people in my life have been so generous, and I need to give to others what has been so generously given to me, in whatever way I possibly can. We also need to be willing to be generous toward ourselves, not in a selfish manner, but in the sense of self-care, because we cannot give to another, what we do not have ourselves.

Love has no price tag, and demands nothing. There are many rewards in selfless giving especially with a joyful heart. For me this is what the Queen of Pentacles embodies, and in the best sense is truly a 'Lady of Leisure'.

The Empress - Beauty and Bounty

Embracing the feminine is embodied in the Empress card. She is the epitome and symbol of motherhood, possesses the wisdom of nature, and she lives life with creative abundance, imagination and luxury. The Great Mother sets the standard for honouring and nurturing ourselves, imparting an understanding of living in our physical bodies and knowing that we are both creatures of the spirit, but also of the earth. She asks us to nourish life.

Embracing our light and dark instinctual nature is encountered in meeting the Empress. Our bodies are both valuable and precious which are worthy of being cared for as being part of nature, rooted and in natural life.

Without the Empress we cannot appreciate our physical selves, living in a purely intellectual world without being grounded in reality. She provides for us a connection to safety and a trust in life.

Queen of Pentacles - Abundance and Sensuality

The Queen of Pentacles is the just the card that confirms and an affirms what I need today. I'm not exactly there yet financially, in that I don't have a stable income. I am however striving to create balance in my life between  mind, body and spirit.
 Far from being financially prosperous like the Queen, I do feel secure within myself generally speaking, and this is a good feeling, and I want to be generous toward others, especially in a supportive and compassionate way. I am a down to earth person, like the Queen of Pentacles, relate and connect to others in this way.

My personal strengths were imparted to me. I was very blessed in my life to have had a mentor, my mother, who generously helped me get to where I am now at this point in my life. She was and is a great example and the epitome of what the Queen of Pentacles represents to me.  My mother became that secure and independent woman after many years of difficulty, hardship and struggle. A single woman who was rich, strong in spirit and generously shared her abundance of life with her messed up daughter, her family and with others. She was what I would call a mother's mother, embodying what the Queen of Pentacles asks of us; to be compassionate, nurturing, practical, down-to-earth in our attitude when relating to others, and in whatever the circumstance. My mother was stable, resourceful, realistic, versatile, loved life and was spiritual. She always was able to find solutions in an uncomplicated way.

I will conclude this post by relating to you a meaningful and affectionate memory I have, that for me, expresses the kind of woman my mother was. My mother loved dance and music, as she was a singer and a musician.
She had told me that she belly danced in the privacy of her own bedroom, by herself. This revealed to me how she was connected to the sensuality of her own body and to the earth, like the Queen of Pentacles. When she first told me she belly danced, myself being a teenager at this time, I was amazed, and a little shocked.
 Later in my own life I became a belly dancer. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It greatly enriched my life, my sense of self-value, acceptance of my body and connection with the earth. Challenging my self physically, affirmed my own Queen of Pentacles within.

Baubo The Belly Goddess - Egg Tempera - Catherine Meyers, 2013

The Empress - Bountiful & Beautiful

Seems lately I have a number of female friends, myself included, who are thinking about their mothers. Perhaps being mid Summer when things are in bloom and growing our thoughts are drawn to the Empress the Mother of All who represents abundance and luxury.
The Empress is ruled by Venus the Roman goddess of love.

We learn how to become women from our mothers, who nurture, protect and love us always, unconditionally, even from beyond the grave.  She connects us with the feeling of safety and trust in life. Our mothers live deep within the small of our heart of hearts.

The Empress provides creativity, imagination, and fertile growth.
 I do not see the Empress as perfection, but as a real woman, who is of the earth. She knows the suffering, and the joy, and she is perfect in her imperfection . She encourages us to celebrate who we are, as we are, as real women.

We may not be mothers biologically, but we can still provide those mothering qualities toward others, and toward ourselves. Without the inner experience of the Great Mother within , we can not bring any thing into fruition. We need to understand how to be patient, and gentle with ourselves and others.

Walker Evans - Photograph

Ace of Swords - Success!

Swords represent the intellectual side of life, will and action, where reason prevails over emotion. Swords cuts through muddled thought, and brings clarity. Order and justice rule, leading to abundance and prosperity.
Success in attaining your goals is ahead. An intellectual breakthrough is made. It's an aha moment and there may be a discovery, or even the publication of a book.


Here we see Athene, goddess of Justice, and this Minor Arcana card, like all Aces heralds a burst of raw energy, that gives a new perspective on the world. This new world view and perspective can create conflict. When we change our outlook and behaviour, this often upsets the apple cart where others are concerned, as they may not respond favourably. You may be full of enthusiasm and energy to embrace a new lifestyle, however others may feel their lifestyle, and the old order is going to be affected, and threatened, which creates conflict. Do not loose heart, as there is and can be a resolution with a strong heart, mind and will.

You may have found you want to pursue a change in career, or relationship. Perhaps you are considering moving to a different country, or residence. You might even have decided to return to school at a mature age, but, there may be negative reactions from the very people you love, and that love you.

 One may assume, that you can be confident in thinking, because family and friends love you, and that they would, and should be supportive; this unfortunately is often not the case, in many situations. especially with friends and families. This is the double edged sword, that the Ace of Swords presents, and you better be prepared for some quarrels, and disputes. I will reiterate, success is your's with a strong heart, mind and will.