Four of Pentacles - Order Out of Chaos

 "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." This is a statement attributed to a number of sources. It's a wise one regardless of who said it, and it has born out to be true in my life.

 Sometimes the teacher resides within ourselves. We learn from our mistakes, we let go of the people, places and things we have been holding tight to our chest, be it material possessions, our looks, our health, home or relationships etc.

We see in this card the apprentice and the teacher. The teacher is holding tight his pentacles seemingly threatened that his position might will be usurped in some way. He doesn't want to let go of what he has worked hard for to get.

Most of us aren't really welcoming of change and we get comfortable with a certain status quo or situation. When we see others making progress and positive changes, this can cause us to compare ourselves to others or it can motivate us to take an inventory of our own lives. This action can be an opportunity to grow and move forward. It's our choice. Change is inevitable. We either move forward or backward, never staying still..

And so taking a personal inventory of ourselves can be a teacher and if we can accept ourselves as we are, as human beings with grace, humour and humility we learn to be our own best friends, and finding serenity in the storm, and making order out of chaos. Art and creativity help me to do just that.

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What To Do With Nostalgia - Six of Cups

Sitting on a rock, where she first met Eros, and surrounded by the calm sea, Psyche holds the golden cup, which she pensively stares into. In her other hand, she holds her wilting bridle bouquet. She has been abandoned by her husband Eros, and left with nothing, but nostalgic memories. However, not all things are as they appear to be, and this is not an unhappy card.

To be able to learn something about yourself through loss, can be a very positive experience. It can bring peace of mind, a sense of harmony, and contentment. A new found strength through our loss brings serenity, and after the storm comes the calm.

If we can take a realistic inventory of our past, this can transform our future through what we have lost, and gained from our experience. Learning from these lessons is essential, otherwise we may be repeat the same mistakes, which will lead to a state of confusion and chaos.

Living in and longing nostalgically for the past, is a useless exercise. Acceptance and gratitude are always the key to having a happy life in the present.

Six of Swords - More Than Ready

Well I must say, the Six of Swords is a much welcomed card that I drew this morning. Good news indeed, to see calmer seas ahead, and leaving the turbulent waters behind!

 In this card one comes to terms with their limitations,  possessing a tranquil mind regardless of their circumstance. This is not always easy, and takes practice. What is easy, is to forget that our lives have a pattern of hills and valleys, turmoil and serenity.

What is paramount, is striving to have a deep understanding of the meaning and cycle of life, of human behaviour and how this all relates to us, in order to move ahead into the future. Knowing what road we are on, and why, along with understanding how we got there, makes all the difference. We will be  more than ready for a peaceful passage with self-knowledge and insight, keeping our dignity and self-respect intact.

The Hermit - The Way To Wisdom

I love the Hermit card, as I have always had a thirst to understand spiritual matters. This is a card of strong healing, as a result of solitude, loneliness, patience, and from which comes, insight and understanding.

 Who is this Hermit? He is the ancient God Cronos, who's name means time. The Fool, the first Major Arcana card of the Tarot deck, has four moral lessons to learn, and the last of these, is the lesson of time within the cycle of life, and the lesson of mortality.

Deciding to move to the countryside, being in close contact with nature, has allowed me to focus my mind and heart. Through quite reflection, and the solitude of living alone has provided me with serenity amidst the storms of life.

Spending my childhood and early youth, and early adulthood in the city, I understand all that it has to offer. As an adult I came to the realization I was unhappy, and that I was the only person responsible for my own happiness. After asking myself, when was I the happiest in life, the answer came to me immediately. It was when I spent hours in the country. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to now live in rural Nova Scotia for twenty years.

Some folks don't understand why someone would want to live in the country. I understand why folks want to live in more urban city locations, but I know I would be very unhappy, and out of touch with that serenity and solace, that I had longed for since I was a child.

There is a deep part of my soul that has become the Hermit, and believe this is why I identify with this card so much.

 I think of the wise words that the late Robin Williams echos my thoughts and feelings about the Hermit.

  " I used to think the worst thing in life is to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone." 

Canada Geese - The View From My Studio - Catherine Meyers Photography

Six of Cups - Nostaligia

The Six of Cups may look like a card of unhappiness but it is not, it is a card of nostalgia. Psyche, sitting on the rock mid the calm sea, has learned much about herself, and not simply in spite of loss, but perhaps because of it and there is harmony.

Feeling nostalgia is very different than feeling regret, and living in the past, which is pointless, regardless of how wonderful or painful it once was, or how we perceive it to have been. We cannot change the past, unless we have done some thing to hurt another, including ourselves, we can make amends and try to make things right. Forgiving ourselves for the part we have played in our loss and hurt, is often the most difficult part, especially if we do not kindly care about ourselves, the way we might be toward others.

I have learned the hard lesson, that there is nothing that will drive us more crazy, than trying to get something from someone who cannot, or will not give us what we want, or need, including ourselves. Acceptance is the key. This does not mean accepting unacceptable behaviour, or being a doormat, allowing ourselves to be stepped on, or used.

 Once when we grasp and come to the point of acceptance, will we find peace and serenity. Only then will we be able to move on and achieve our goals, no matter how big or small.

Our memory makes up a big part of what defines who we are, and so, we don't want to forget. As we age, we often reminisce, and can get lost in nostalgic thought about those good old days, that perhaps weren't as good as we recall, but not necessarily all being negative either. Our perception and perspective is all relative and important. I find it fascinating how in families, sibling's recollection of the same experience can be entirely different, and occasionally can lead to argument and even divisiveness. One sibling will see great hurt and loss in the family, another will see the exact opposite, as if they'd grown up in different households and families.

This day is what makes up the good old days, and like Psyche where she first encountered Eros, we contemplate that cup of emotion we hold, connected to relationship, friendship and romance, and we long for days and loves gone by. We are more likely to learn and find happiness in looking back, if we do not stare, regret, nor shut the door on the past.

If we embrace, appreciate and are grateful for our present, we can move forward with hope, for a future that will be easier, and happier. We can weather the rough seas of life and loss, finding calm in the eye of the storm, and know tranquility, peace, serenity and freedom.

Two of Swords - An Open Heart

The Two of Swords represents a delicate balance between opposing forces, which can potentially be destructive, but there is a resolution if one can face reality, and not spend energy in preserving the status-quo keeping up appearances, constantly controlling our emotions. This will wear you out, and you will be neither happy, nor unhappy. There will be no growth or movement forward. It is will be a stalemate.

The message of the Two of Swords is, keep your heart open, and this will give peace and wholeness deep within your being.

I have often heard it said, if you do not deal with your emotions they will deal with you.
It was once explained to me, by a spiritual mentor, that stuffing our feelings is like a bed spring that has popped up through a mattress. You step on the spring to press it back down, and then another spring pops up. This continues until you run out of limbs to keep the springs down, and they are popping up everywhere.

Suppressing our emotion, and not facing the truth, over a long period of time, can lead to a very unhealthy emotional state of mind, creating confusion and grief, to ourselves and often to those around us.
 Initially we are aware that we are suppressing our emotion but after years of doing so, we end up with repressed feelings, that we don't even know we are carrying them around, buried deep within in our psyche. This state can lead to mental and emotional breakdowns, leaving our lives completely unraveled. There can be much good that comes out of adversity, but a destructive situation can be prevented if you deal and accept your feelings. It's good to unhook from the merry-go-round of work, and from the storms of life. Taking ourselves to a quiet, peaceful environment, that will provide serenity  so we can reflect, and do nothing but sit by a stream or on the banks of a river, so we can listen, to that still quit voice, and to begin to open our heart.