Queen of Cups - Intuition

The Queen is an influential, calm, stable, intuitive and compassionate figure. I love the description of this card in the hand book from the Mary Hanson-Roberts tarot deck."This queen drinks deeply from the cup of life."

This is one of my very favouite cards and for me I consider it to be an example of how I intend to live my life. For some, following one's intuition rather that their intellect as this queen represents, can be a daunting and frightening way of living, as there seems to be a lack of control and most people want to feel in control of their lives. We can have a modicum of control of our lives, in that we choose and control our own behaviours, no one else's.

I see letting go of control, as being a good thing, when it comes to life generally, because we can't control most things that happen in our lives. This has everything to do with acceptance, and living life on life terms and understanding the one constant in life is change, and we have to learn how to adapt to change.

            " Intuition is the treasure of a woman's psyche."

                                                        - Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Vasalisa The Wise - Egg Tempera - Catherine Meyers

Queen of Wands - Forever Young

Vibrancy and exuberance are the words that best describe this Queen of Wands (Penelope). She is forever young, because of these qualities, regardless of her age.

I asked the question this morning, what 2018 held for me as I approach a milestone age of 65 years. Reaching this age was once considered old, but no longer, in light of what you hear about 60 being the new 40 etc. Nonetheless varying attitudes about age is a relative thing, often are very superficial and can still promote ageism, as we live in a youth oriented culture that seems to by times, have lost it's soul.

I've never been one to pay much attention to age, accept when I was a young girl. I longed to "grow up" in the physical sense, to be what I thought was that magical age of 20, for reasons that made no sense, and were purely superficial. Now I ask myself, what does it mean to be approaching 65? It's a good feeling because I'm comfortable in my own skin, and I've accomplished much, and I still feel young.

Having a mother who set the example for me, as she knew how to age so gracefully, I never thought of her as being "old" as she was very much like the Queen of Wands.

And so I have long aspired to live by this example, and intend to strive to exhibit the same characteristics of this Queen, with an eternal youthful spirit. I will continue on the path of the Heroine's Journey. 

I found this article today, that I think adequately describes the defining stages of aging, and generally reflects our changing perceptions regarding age.

The High Priestess - Proserpina

 I had a reassuring and pleasant dream about my late big brother Ralph last night, whom I miss very much. The welcome appearance of The High Priestess that I drew this morning was also reassuring, because I've been missing him and he's been in my thoughts so much lately. In our dreams, is often where we  find comfort from or the answers to our questions, if we pay close attention to them.

 Persephone who is embodied in the High Priestess, ruled by the Moon, and is the queen of the underworld or of the unconscious. She's also the daughter of the Earth Mother Demeter and she is the guardian of the secrets of the dead. Although Persephone would never reveal  or speak of these secrets, I think dreams can give us some sense and glimpse into this hidden world. Personally, I've had number of experiences involving the people I love, that have died, who've visited me in my dreams, which can sometimes be disturbing or comforting.

 The depth of the soul, the secret of our real purpose is revealed through our intuition and the wisdom of  patience. In particular, because I speak from the perspective as a woman, our inner Mother reveals to us our own identity through the creative womb of unconscious and it's a beautiful thing.

The Emperor - The Father Principle

A father figure, The Emperor embodies the mythic All-Father Zeus, the creator of the world. He offers us counsel, guidance, the strength and wisdom of experience. Zeus urges us to rise above the bondage of body and limitations of nature. Both the positive and negative father principle needs to be considered. No one needs a tyrannical father, or mother for that matter. Zeus can be a miserable dude, so safe to say he's not one of my favourite mythic figures.

This Major Arcana card I think is a good reminder to not put all our faith in emperor's new clothes or in any emperor, politicians or human beings. Inspiration comes from truth and creative vision. Creative vision is embodied in the Journey of the Heroine and in our search for wholeness and in re-defining our preconceived  ideas and the principles of both what masculine and feminine means.

The kind of All-Father that I'm drawn to is really an All-Mother but specifically I think of the Sumerian Goddess of the Grape Vine Geshtinanna, who is described by Maureen Murdock author of The Heroine's Journey as being the "new feminine". An ancient mythological story and figure that's so very relevant to the contemporary meaning to our world and our identity as human beings.

Geshtinanna

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

Seven of Pentacles - Feminine Creativity Vs Masculine Creativity

I've been re-reading my book The Heroine's Journey, thinking and learning whole lot more about my creative purpose and about business.

Daedalus, who is no doubt full of masculine creativity and seen here being propositioned by Queen Pasiphae in the Seven of Pentacles.

When we are offered an opportunity, be it in love or business there are always hard decisions to make that will enable us to either earn and keep our autonomy, or result in us compromising our beliefs, disregarding our dreams and maybe even our soul. We have to decide if we will take the safe path, or the one that takes risk and inspires.

Taking the safe path, so as to not put our financial security at risk or to not threaten some other kind of status-qou can initially appear to be advantageous, but in the long run we will live life feeling unsatisfied,  unfulfilled, unhappy and lost. Whatever we decide to do, monetary gain, ego gratification or power should not be the sole motivation.

Finding our creative purpose will not be revealed on the safe path, but will be found in the creative feminine that allows things to happen naturally.

It is said that "where masculine creativity tends to move forward, feminine creativity tends to turn round on itself, not circularly so much as spirally."

My creative purpose in life, like the heroine's journey is not something that's forced, and I must trust the mystery of this manifestation.

King of Wands - The Blueprint of Life

With the New Moon in Cancer, indicating emotional fulfillment. It is the astrological sign of the Great Mother, signifying intuition and emotion, brings with it on this day of the new moon, the King of Wands. It also brings to mind creative vocation and purpose, with lots of energy and growth.  It's rather like, finding  blue print of life in our life's journey.

The King of Wands is the Hero, a counterpart to the Heroine, embodied in the Queen of Cups. There is one very significant difference between Hero and Heroine. The Hero is looking back. The Heroine is looking forward.

According to Jungian, Maureen Murdoch, author of The Heroine's Journey, didn't feel that Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero's Journey addressed "the specific psycho-spiritual journey of contemporary women ."

Ace of Cups - Pleasure-Pride-Empowerment

The Ace of Cups I've drawn, speaks to me today of the culmination of thoughts, and my ongoing exploration of how women reclaim their bodies in every way, in the realm of the sacred.

Slowly and steadily I've been making a conscious effort to address healths issues, making doctors appointments etc. I am feeling very positive about this and nervous at the same time, making visits to my dentist and my family doctor, and having routine tests. Not much fun needless to say, but necessary.

Reclaiming that sacredness of the female body has become my focus as of late. This is very different than being preoccupied  with superficial concerns about what I wear or "putting on my face" for reasons that have little to do with health or sacredness. The ancient philosophy of referring to the body as a temple immediately comes to my mind.

Historically as women we carry pain, shame, and dis-empowerment of the past and present. If we can look within ourselves, we find there exists the exact opposite, pleasure, pride and empowerment. It has been there all along. It's time we all remove the historical cultural shroud placed upon us, embrace and love our fertile, feral, sexual and creative selves, reclaiming our wild woman nature, that culture has long feared.

 “You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.” - Isadora Duncan

The Chariot - Decisions

Interpreting this card on a intuitive level, The Chariot is about decision, trying to get from one place to another, moving forward safely, and surely. It is about weighing the pros and cons, harnessing the oppositional forces between knowing what I should do, what I want to do and about discernment.

 I am no different than any one in that, I fight with myself, can be my own worse enemy, self-sabotaging  my intentions and plans. The old adage of 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' comes immediately to mind."

I have been re-reading and trying hard to not simply grasps the concepts, but the many truths in The Heroines Journey, Women's Quest For Wholeness, by Maureen Murdoch. I want to actualize these truths in my life, so as to lessen the fights I have with myself in order to become whole, mind, body and spirit.

Like The Fool this is the journey of life, and I am at a new chapter. I know this deep in my soul. If I do not  begin this journey it is to deny all that is youthful, creative, and that which is greater than myself.

The Fool - Egg Tempera on Porcelain Tile, 2015 - Catherine Meyers

' The Feminine Face of God '

La Loba /Wolf Woman - Catherine Meyers

Yesterday I posted the about the Empress, which was the card I drew from my Mythic Tarot deck.
The Empress (Demeter) is the Earth Mother. Her daughter is The High Priestess (Persephone) queen of the underworld, link to the inner world or ' the unconscious ', and guardian of the secrets of the dead.

I am posting today about these two particular cards because they directly relate to the amazing book I am reading that I have mentioned in my posts a number of times, The Heroine's Journey, by Maureen Murdock. There is so much more I would love to share about this book and why I think it is a very important book to read, but suffice to say I highly recommend it to anyone, but especially to those who are tarot readers. It is a book that enables a deep understanding of our feminine and masculine identity and how there needs to be a balance between the two within ourselves for wholeness.

The High Priestess is our guide to all that is mysterious and mystical. I have read that this card, more than any other in the tarot deck, embodies and symbolizes the tarot reader, which I agree with, because the High Priestess represents the knowledge of intuition, supernatural, instinct, secret and self knowledge, and I believe it is the reason why individuals become tarot readers, male or female.

Here are some excerpts from The Heroine's  Journey that I hope will provide for you  food for thought, that I think clarifies ideas about the feminine, masculine, and about mother and daughter.

 " The nature of the mother/daughter split is also determined by how a woman integrates the archetypal Mother into her psyche, which includes Mother Earth and the cultural view of the feminine.

Our collective psyche fears the power of Mother and does everything it can to destroy it. We take her nurturance for granted; we use, abuse, and dominate matter (mater) every time we get a chance. Every barrel of oil that pours into Prince William Sound, every ton of nuclear waste that is stored in the New Mexican desert, every tree that is suffocated by acid rain shows our enormous arrogance and disregard for her.

Our churches have pushed the feminine face of God underground for centuries, destroying her image and usurping her power for the male gods. How can we feel connected to the feminine when culture around us does everything in its power to make us forget? We bow before the gods of greed, domination, and ignorance and scoff at the feminine images of nurturance, balance, and generousity. We rape, plunder, and destroy the earth and expect her to give to us endlessly. This mother/daughter wound runs deep; it will take much to heal it. "

" Your inner man and woman
   have been at war
   they are both wounded
   tired
   and in need of care it is time
   to put down the sword
   that divides them in two "

" The Masculine is an archetypal force; it is not a gender. Like the feminine, it is a creative force that lives within all women and men. When it becomes unbalanced and unrelated to life it becomes combative, critical, and destructive. This unrelated archetypal masculine can be cold and inhuman; it does not take into account out human limitations. Its machismo tells us to forge ahead no matter what the cost. It demands perfection, control, and domination; nothing is ever enough. Our masculine nature is wounded. "

" It is the job of the heroine to enlighten the world by loving it-starting with herself. "

I have to say I was initially not clear about what is meant by the masculine not being a gender. Upon more reflection. I believe what is meant, is that masculine and feminine are archetypal forces, not gender. That makes sense to me. I found more information from this site.

 http://www.gestaltreality.com/2013/02/03/archetypal-masculine-feminine-forces-the-key-to-creation/

Three of Swords - Recovery

The Three of Swords is a card of pain and like all threes in the Tarot deck it signifies completion.The pain has come to the surface, and is a release of energy, so the path is clear to move forward toward recovery and celebration. There is separation and conflict, and indicates an inability to see, because of self-deception and fantasy.

Being sixty one feels great. The blinders are now off and my 'give a shit' has stopped working. The heart ache and pain of the past is behind me, though it still hurts from time to time. Regardless, I am now more comfortable, and confident in my skin, even though life can be problematic, it is a relief to know I can accept,  cope with it and thrive.

 I know I am healing along the continuum. I can care for myself and take responsibility for my own happiness. I now look to the future resolved with optimism. It is a good feeling, as opposed to my younger days, when I felt  insecure and emotionally unhealthy, and most of all, heartbroken.

Presently I am reading the Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdock. It is helping me to understand myself and the reason's why I behave the way I do as a woman, and what lead to my heartache and pain. One particular statement I read really struck me, and made me think on a unconscious level from an early age I knew this to be true. This I am certain I have always loved dancing, it somehow connected me with the divine.

" Women access their spirituality through movement and body awareness, so a denial of the body inhibits the heroine's spiritual development. She ignores her intuition and dreams and pursues the safer activities of the mind. "