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 |   My blog--I pull a card--if it doesn't speak to me...perhaps it is for you? |
I pull a card...if it doesn't speak to me...perhaps it was meant for you?    How to Read the Tarot Begin by brewing a cup of tea, a nervine, lemon balm or chamomile, this is after all, your future. A reading at the dark of the moon is best, before the night creatures crawl and bad humours fill the air. Pick a circular deck, with a fairy-tale motif, and no reversals. Hold a question in your heart, shuffle the cards and place them on the table. Choose only two. Like the ancient Israelites, these are your seer stones, Urim and Thumimm, black and white, yes or no. Isn't that all you were asking?  |
| David and I went to Van Gogh Immersive Experience in Sarasota, Florida yesterday. What a brilliant experience to be surrounded by sound, light and color, immersed in a beautiful world. Many of Van Gogh's works were featured, his iconic 'Sunflowers" and "Starry Night'. Onw work not featured was his "Pieta". It is an image of Mary holding the body of the crucified Jesus. Van Gogh replaces Jesus' face with his own. This painting speaks deeply to my own beliefs. I feel I can place my own face here, beside Mother Mary. I can place the faces of all those suffering in Ukraine and elsewhere. My Mother Mary comfort and protect us all. I didn't notice any marigolds in Van Gogh's work. There were sunflowers, and irises, and almond blossoms. Perhaps marigolds don't grow in the areas he painted. But marigolds are the flower/plant from the HerbCrafter's Tarot deck I have selected today. Marigolds are associated in Mexico with the dead and the Day of the Dead. If Van Gogh was familiar with them I think he would have been enchanted by their bright golden glow. This Tarot uses them to illustrate the Death card. Van Gogh took his own life and suffered from mental health issues most of his life. Despite this, he captured beauty wherever he found it. May we be able to do the same. HerbCrafter's Tarot--XIII-Death--Marigold--Celebrate the beauty and fragility of life  |
| Today I am thinking of Ukraine and sunflowers. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine, and one of my favorites. I am going to plant sunflowers all over our little plot of ground here in homage to Ukraine. I am praying that Ukraine prevails and Putin goes down to defeat. In the HerbCrafter's Tarot the Magician card--Number 1 is represented by the sunflower. Sunflower roots travel for miles bringing nourishment to the flower. The Magician card is all about harnassing your own energy and power. I am dreaming of vast fields of sunflowers over Ukraine, over the world, a connection of roots, with a message of peace and unity throughout the world. To me Ukraine manifests as deep feminine energy. My hope is that this Mother energy will resist and defeat the patriarchal destructive tendancies of both capitalism and communism. I am going to practice guerrilla gardening and sow sunflower seeds wherever I can. Prayers for Ukraine. The HerbCrafter's Tarot--1-The Magician--Sunflower--From one seed, a thousand. Sow peace. |
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| Because tomorrow is Valentine's Day I decided to focus on the Death card from my tiny tarot the Manara Erotic Tarot. And yes, this deck is quite racy. The Death card in this deck depicts a voluptuous scantily clad woman in the grip of a menacing sea creature. It reminds me of the novel the "Shape of Water", I have it on Audible but haven't finished yet. I was going to rent the movie but it's not the kind of thing my husband might enjoy. Super Bowl Party today with friens, family, grandkids. I have to go with the LA Rams. Watched a cheesy Jean Harlow flick last night on TCM. I imagine that was considered pretty racy for the time. The Red Headed Woman, and the "bad girl" wins! My love and winning be in the air for all this day! Listening to Santana. Death--XIII--Manara Tarot--Able to penetrate, secretiveness |
| I decided that this week's Death card would come from Tarot of the Crone deck. When I opened the box the Death card was sitting right on top. Synchronicity abounds. I am reading a book titled The AfterLife of Billy Fingers". It was recommended by a FaceBook friend who is part of the FaceBook Way of the Rose group. This friend, Tamara, who I have met briefly in real life is a vibrant human. She ran for local office here, and then, hearing a message from Mother Mary pulled up stakes and moved across the country to Colorado. I haven't acted that impulsively, though I retired from my nursing job after a very clear signal to do so from Her. I subsequently found a part-time job that is a blessing. The Billy Fingers book is about after life communication from an addict brother to his sister. Tamara felt it jolted her life. I am halfway through and feeling positive about the message. I plan to go to the author's website and check out things further. My oldest grandson (21) is an addict and has mental health issues. On Thursday he voluntarily entered a residential treatment program. I don't think there is a final solution to addiction, but praying for massive healing. There is a group offered for family members of those in the program and I plan to attend. My feeling is that addiction is a spiritual issue--and that's why faith-based addiction programs have a better than average success rate. I am also following a 28-day Reiki happiness program. Baking a low-carb chocolate cake and that makes me very happy. Death by Chocolate. Death--XIII--There is nowhere else to go. Something has to change--that something is you. |
| The coldest day in two years here in Naples, Florida. Some areas even had frost. This is the second time this year I have had to turn heat on. I have lived in Naples, FL since 1986--longer than I lived in Pittsburgh where I grew up. I will likely die here. I love Florida but hate Governor DeathSentence and the people that support his ilk. These do of course include family, neighbors, some few friends. So you just generally shut up as not to alienate and just remain befuddled in your uber liberal heart of hearts. Naples used to be charming and relatively small. Growth and expansion have changed that. But my son and grandchildren are here, my husband's sister. So, here we remain. I tend now to select doctors, dentists, beauty shops based on nearness to home. Roads here have not kept pace with growth. My part-time job is also only a 20-minute drive. These are prime requirements for me. Because he is retiring I am giving up my $5.00 Goodwill find of a Ben Rothlesberger Super Bowl shirt to my oldest grandson who has promised to treat it with respect. Perhaps I will stumble across a Tom Brady jersey some day. It is rumored he is retiring. Had breakfast yesterday at Waffle House. Husband lost a bet. Wilbur was alive in the Mary Worth comic strip. Yes, I am old. Still get a physical paper, still have a landline phone, still pay bills by snail mail. Off to make ham, green bean and potato soup for this cold, sunny Florida day. XIII--St. Stephen--Martyrdom--Death--A Gnostic Saints Tarot--What are you willing to give your life for? |
| Sanibel Roseate spoonbills in winter...,white pelicans shadows disappear Written for:
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| January 23, 2022 Today's card is from the Dark Goddess Tarot---La Santa Muerte--the Mexican Goddess of Death. I work in an adult dementia day stay and bought "faith bracelets" kits thinking they might be an OK arts and crafts project. I decided they were too complicated for most of our members to finish. I gave them away to co-workers and made one for myself. There are 7 beads---yellow for light (God created light). green for the trees and plants, blue for the seas, white for purity, red for the blood shed, and black for death. There is a clear bead, for how are lives would be if we followed God's mandates. I am only a nominal Christian, more attuned to Mother Mary, but choosing to wear my bracelet to honor Her. I believe in ecology not theology and Mama Mary is the earth's body and heart. Also, for some inexplicable reason I have been thinking about the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. I grew up in Pittsburgh and know that Fred Rogers "Mr. Rogers" was a graduate and his missio was children's television. I have found that they do offer on-line continuing education classes. The next class coming up is about finding beauty in the world. I believe the classes are chiefly for ministers and religious, so not certain if this would be usedul to this "nominal" Christian. But sometimes you have to follow your heart's weird promptings. Thich Naht Han's comment on death--resonated with me. The Goddess Tarot--XIII--Death--Santa Muerte--Death is life's destiny.   |
| January 16, 2022 Believe XIII A rare grey, cold blustery day in Naples, Florida. Enjoying the change, I go to the retention pond hoping to catch a glimpse of Sybylla, the veiled mermaid who resides there. I think of her as "my" mermaid, but she belongs only to herself. I have no idea what the lifespan of a mermaid is. She may be ancient, surely she is not young. I think about death and mortality constantly these days. I am seventy. My grandson, who is an addict, and self medicated for his mental health problems is twenty-one. I hope to die before him. Time isn't a resource container to pull from to complete all our to do lists. We enter time and space completely to attend to what really matters. Sybylla swims to the edge of the pond--her words--nature, family, friends. I pull on the thread of my soul feel the whole fabric of existence shimmering within. The Herbal Tarot--XIII--Death--Elder Flower---Transmutation |
| January 9, 2022 Winter Witch Some prefer low and slow, fire-roasted, smoky. I want a shiver, elemental and raw, gambero rosso frigid shrimp, twenty second squid. At the end licorice gelato dusted with frost. 30 words--9 lines Written for the Writer's Cramp--prompts--winter, shiver, frigid, frost The Cook's Tarot--Queen of Swords--Speak the truth as you know it--straight from the heart. |
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