Queen of Pentacles - Hygge Queen

You know the kind of day when you can't seem to get out of your own way, and you ask yourself why? I might blame it on the weather, the time of year being between the end of Fall and the impending beginnings of Winter.

Outside my window I see no more leaves left on the trees and no snow to cover up the bleakness and gray that matches the sky and I don't want to go out there into the wind and cold to get my needed exercise. I can feel the needle on my Hygge meter quickly inching into the red zone!

Well I'm having one of those days. Ironically I heard an item on the radio about Amanda Lang's new book The Beauty of Discomfort which explores how it's important for human beings to get comfortable with being uncomfortable that enables personal growth.

Having drawn the Queen of Pentacles today is initially comforting for me as she is the symbolic influence that all Queens represent, but she's especially the image of the quintessential down to earth, sensual mother, who enjoys abundance in many areas of her life and is quick to share all she has with others. She's stable and receptive, the Mythic queen of Lydia, Omphale.

The Queen of Pentacles is the image of female strength, a ruler in her own right. She wants the best, is hard-working and self-sufficient. I call her the Queen of Hygge!

So today I'm trying to get more comfortable with my discomfort, maybe even find  some meaningful Hygge in my discomfort and simply be grateful.

The Queen of Pentacles - Who's Happy?

I'd love to be or even feel like the Queen of Pentacles today but I'm not sure I'm any where near feeling like her right now. Oh sure on an intellectual level, I really identify with all her glorious attributes and I aspire to them daily. She's stead fast, possessing endurance and stability, grounded within herself and through her deep connection with the earth she loves to generously share in it's bounty, in any way that she can.

She lives each day to the fullest and is the embodiment of what it means to embrace all the simple pleasures of life. The Queen of Pentacles very much is an inspiration and is really the quintessential Earth Mother, the image of feminine strength and sensuality, with dignity and power.

I've deemed her to be the Queen of Hygge, and so drawing her today, is a much needed reminder for me to be happy, which is directly proportional to the gratitude I try mindfully to have everyday.

 Today it's been hard for me to focus on my gratitude because of the direct or indirect affects of not having enough available funds to get by every month. Yes, I'm poor, but I do know I'm rich, in so many other ways and this is what I try hard to focus on.

Financial insecurity has been an ongoing thing for me and tends to wear on you after many years. I never thought I'd be wishing for the day I turn 65, in 508 days, but who's counting? Well I am, because this will make a huge difference in decreasing my stress level, when my income will increase three times.

Today I've acknowledged that I'm sick and tried of struggling financially but I know there's light at the end of the tunnel and feel comforted by the Queen of Hygge who reminds me of this, and to count my blessings and to be thankful for the small miracles in my life. So the Queen of Pentacles (Omphale) queen of Lydia, she has made me grateful today and I'm feeling happier for it now, before having written this post about my favourite influential, down to earth, motherly Queen.

I'm reminded of a saying that I try hard to live by. I'm grateful not because I'm happy, but I'm happy because I'm grateful.

My cat Tommy Tom, he's a good teacher, he's so happy. He's really got this Hygge thing down pat!

Tommy Tom is Hyyge enlightened!

The Queen of Pentacles - The Queen of Hygge

 

The perfect card to draw today, the Queen of Pentacles. She is very down to earth, loving the abundance of the simple pleasures of life, and she loves to share with others.

I've learned a new word that describes the kind of happiness that can come from the enjoying and sharing those simple pleasures in life and sharing them with others. It's something the Danes call Hygge, pronounced Hoo-gah. 

Demark is reportedly the happiest country in the world, according to the UN report on happiness. Not surprizingly because of their attitude toward what constitutes happiness, they seem to have done a lot of things right and hygge, which is defined as meaning cosy, well being and enjoying the simple pleasures in life I sure certainly helps I'm sure.

 Hygge is a word that has it's origins in Scandinavia and Denmark, dating back to the 18th Century and it's something that is cultivated in a serious way by the Danes.

Meik Wiking in his book The Little Book of Hygge, is a beautiful illustrated study of why hygge brings the Danes so much happiness.

Meik Wiking, the CEO at the Happiness Research Institute and studies happiness. His TED talk explores the dark side of happiness which is very insightful.

Like the influential Queen of Pentacles, I believe Denmark is an example of how to cultivate happiness through the simple pleasures of Hygge.

Queen of Pentacles - Bellissima!

The perfect card for me to draw today! The Queen of Pentacles enjoys the abundance of life, being surrounded by natural beauty and bounty of the earth that surrounds her. She is quick to share that bounty. Being a Queen she has influence, is the salt of the earth and is motherly.

Embodied in the mythic figure of Queen Omphale, is the image of feminine strength and sensuality.

Experiencing the richness of the earth for me is one of the most wonderful things that I am so grateful to be able to experience this on a daily basis, and I get the most pleasure from. I'm not materially rich, but the good earth makes me feel wealthy.

I have this fabulous collection of Italian herbs, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil, that I am so excited about and I'm really looking forward to having tomatoes, peppers and herbs from my garden to make salsa. Bellissima!

 We have a special dish in Nova Scotia called  Hodge Podge. After picking some fresh peas, green and yellow beans, along with new potatoes I threw them all into my slow cooker crock pot, along with seasoning, a large amount of butter, cream and milk.

I'd also made some bread yesterday, and this addition made for a delicious Nova Scotian Summer supper.  As we say here, it was some good!

Nova Scotia Hodge Podge

Queen of Pentacles - The Happiness of Pursuit

This generous and gracious Queen of Pentacles is a great lover of the finer things in life and loves nothing more than  to share them. Not necessarily monetary possessions but the love and attachment to her environment and to the natural world around her.. This is kind of appreciation is the foundation of what is what is essential to her own personal happiness, much more so than physical things. It enables her deep spiritual connection that transcends, and transforms her into a better person of depth and character that is defined by who she is, not by what she possesses, or her status is society.

When I see the Queen of Pentacles today, I immediately think about how we can all get caught up in material possessions and acquiring things that we think will make us happy. We worry about how we are going to manage to either get ahead financially, while going deeper and deeper into debt, living in a culture where many of us live credit rich, and cash poor.

I think the Queen of Pentacles urges us to involve ourselves more in the happiness that comes from the happiness of the pursuit, instead of the pursuit of happiness.

" It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit. "
                                       - Denis Waitley

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/

Queen of Pentacles - Spring Has Sprung Me Loose!

This Queen of Pentacles, who is the image of feminine strength (Omphale) is most happy on this Vernal  Equinox, Spring day, especially because the Normanator came with his Tractornator and plowed out my driveway! He's made mounds and mounds of snow, and it was a beautiful sight to see on this first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox! Embodying the element of the earth the Queen celebrates the seasons and it is fitting that I draw this card on this particular day.

 Today is a full solar eclipse, with a super moon. It doesn't happen often the next one I believe is in the year 2020. This day is said to be the the most powerful in 2015 in astrological terms. It feels like it to me! Bring on the flowers!

Oh there may be more snow out there than I've ever seen but it matters not, when your mind is full of  gratitude, for the Normanator,  Spring, the earth, and the Queen of Pentacles.

Queen of Pentacles - Feminine Strength

I find the all the Queens in my Mythic Tarot Deck always have some kind of significant and helpful message for me, usually with some thing I'm struggling with. Today it no different, when I drew the Queen of Pentacles or the mythic figure of Queen Omphale this morning. Prior to this, I heard good news about an issue I had let go of since Friday past, and this card was a clear confirmation for me to remain strong, stable, and simple.

 I don't know about you but I can complicate my life. If could get back the amount of time I've wasted on fretting about things, and if I could cash that time in for dough, I'd be able to at least pay off all of my bills! Especially when the outcome is good, I then reflect on my behaviour. I've metaphorically pulled my hair out, and got my underwear in a knot, and see clearly how this is such a very futile exercise. If this happened literally I'd be bald by now, with very ill fitting, uncomfortable undies.

Regardless of the outcome of things, it is a total waste of time. It is also uncomfortably obvious to me how I  lack trust. I do turn it over, to the God of my understanding,but not without a period of hand wringing, and hanging onto my Kerfuffles. Drives me bonkers.

I do believe I am making improvement, little by slowly. Today I strive for simplicity within the complexity of life. The Queen of Pentacles reminds me to keep my feet planted in the good earth.

Sometimes I bring on these problematic issues myself. I have nothing to whine, complain or worry about. So like the Queen of Pentacles I want and need to focus on the abundance of life. I need to be generous with  myself mentally and emotionally, believe in my feminine strength, and share that abundance with others, and stop worrying about Kerfulles.

The Lost City of Kerfuffles

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'.

Queen of Pentacles - The Heroine

Here she is again, the Queen of Pentacles. Seated on a golden throne, a dark haired beauty with a sensuously draped russet robe, and a golden crown upon her head. She has something to say to women, and is saying it emphatically. This card has much to say to me presently.

It is said, a woman's hair is her glory, her spiritual power is in her hair, symbolic of fertility and love. I'm not sure about all this, however, in the Tarot, she is our inner Queen full of generosity, wealth, a patron of the arts and charity. She really is the Earth Mother I'd call her.
  She is the Heroine engaged in the journey. The message she has to tell us I believe, can save women from themselves.

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

Queen of Pentacles - Perspective and Understanding

The secure, simple, and stable life is what motivates the Queen of Pentacles. One of the four court cards in Minor Arcana from the Tarot Mythic Deck, she represents the mother figure, and adult women  in our lives, or can be symbolic of this aspect of our own personality. She takes care of herself, avoids change, and does not want to take chances in life, but prefers  things to stay consistently familiar, and predictable. Life however, is not always predictable.

The message here, is to go with the flow, live life as a loose garment, accepting change and listening closely to that still quite voice, is what the lesson is here, to be learned. It's about getting the right kind of perspective and understanding  of what is really important in life and that is, your relationships, not only with yourself, but with those you love. Life is short, so it is important to get your priorities right. Life is not all about working to get the things we want.

It is a very pleasurable thing to enjoy abundance, and to share it with others. However the tendency to focus too much attention on material things, and establishing a solid foundation in all areas of life, can be a negative preoccupation. There is a need to let go, and to sacrifice some things, that take too much time, effort and work. Simplicity and practicality are the order of the day, but not at the expense of developing an emotional life.

We are asked here to listen to our gut, and to improve our relationship with ourselves, and with our loved ones. Embrace change, follow and listen to your heart, get your priorities straight.

The High Priestess - Wisdom and Discernment

I decided to draw a random card this morning from my Mythic Tarot Deck. I want to spend some time thinking and relating to the Queen of Pentacles, the card I drew, to see what I can decipher. At the end of the day, I'll journal what it has revealed to me intuitively, for myself alone. I've learned this is a great way to become engaged with each card's meaning.

I chose the second card of the Major Arcana to study and write about, for today's post, The High Priestess, the intuitive guide, known as Persephone, Isis, The Corn Maiden and Artemis, and is ruled by the Moon. This image is a link with the inner world, commonly referred to as 'the unconscious' in psychology, the hidden world only revealed in dreams, fantasies, visions, symbols, etc.

 The High Priestess bares the mark of  Isis on her forehead, or wears a crown, symbolizing the Triple Goddess. Isis, was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife, as well as the patroness of nature and magic. The High Priestess also wears the solar crucifix around her neck, symbols of spirituality, balance between male and female. She sits between the two pillars of peace and severity, darkness and light. She embodies the feminine influence and indicates, divine knowledge, perception, creative ability, and self-motivation.
The High Priestess is the Goddess of the Underworld, representing spiritual wisdom and enlightenment, discernment, serenity, mystery, the unknown, the keeper of secrets, and has dominion over intuition. She uses this knowledge to teach rather than to try to control others.

" Discernment is the ability to grasp, comprehend, and evaluate clearly. It means we can see the true nature of things; it allows us to distinguish between what is real and what is imitation.

Discernment may begin with intuitive hunches and perceptiveness. With intuition as a starting point, the quality of discernment is built over time on honest observation, careful reasoning, and balanced application of our knowledge and principles. In a person who is highly discerning, intuition, emotion, and reason inform each other. As we grow in experience, our ability to discern usually grows stronger, providing us with insight that propels us toward greater wisdom" -   http://www.wisdomcommons.org/