The Woman's Garden
(Pg. 11)
OCTOBER
Seven Of Cups:
Minor Arcana/Venus In
Scorpio
Over-indulgence, Hiding, Illusion;
Rose Quartz, Tigers Eye;
White Sage, Rosemary, Lavender;
"The Last Time I Saw Richard" (Joni Mitchell),
"Drowned World/Substitute For Love" (Madonna),
"Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (U2).
Hey everyone!
It's the time of year where everything is in various stages of waking up - the grass is growing again, leaves are sprouting on my grape vine and the other night when I came home a koala and her baby were making their way across my driveway. The cycle of life continues as every living being gears up for the warmer months to come. Members of the human species are quite likely to be still madly engaged in spring cleaning, trying to get everything done before it becomes too hot to move. I always find this time of year exciting, filled with the promise of new beginnings and unexpected adventures, and often feel challenged to stay focused in the here and now, making sure that I have cleaned up any old situation in my life that's still standing in the way of my being able to receive this fresh inspiration. What do I need to do to assure that I'm not going to end up in new circumstances with the same old mess? Usually, I find that it's the clutter in my mind that I need to address first, the brain being one of the most powerful influences on our ability to move forward. It never ceases to amaze me just how creative this tool can be, and when it's filled with fear of change, it is able to manifest the most convincing arguments to continually support the ways in which we've been choosing to deal with the ups and downs of life, even when they are no longer of benefit to us. In fact sometimes, without us even noticing, they become a serious impediment to our growth.
The 7 Of Cups appears in a reading to reveal to us that which we have been doing to avoid seeing reality. Whatever this may be, it has helped us to create an illusionary world where distinguishing between what is and isn't real becomes very difficult. Under this influence our emotions develop a life of their own, constantly swirling and surging like a stormy sea, sweeping us further and further away from solid, dry land. We are left with no idea of how we really feel anymore. When our emotions are churned up, every decision that we make is from a place of imbalance, and it is from this place that we are moving hrough life. 7 is a mystical number which compels us to rest and recharge, and Cups represent the watery realm of feelings. This card challenges us to look, to examine our lives honestly and see through the illusions that have been protecting us from whatever truths we have been unable - or unwilling - to face. And, of course, we all know where looking at the Truth leads us......FREEDOM. Take care!
"Shop for security over happiness and you buy it, at that price"
(Richard Bach: Messiah's Handbook - The Lost Book From Illusions).
Traction In The Rain
If I Could Only Remember My Name (David Crosby)
NOVEMBER
The Moon: Major Arcana/
18/Pisces
Illusion, Transformation,
Feminine Mysteries;
Rose Quartz, Moonstone,
Tigers Eye, Carnelian;
Lavender Rosemary;
Roses;
"Hymn To Her" (The Pretenders),
"Brave Bold Woman" (The Gaia Choir),
"Remember The Tinman" (Tracy Chapman).
Hello everyone!
In these incredible times in which we live, the world offers us numerous paths to venture down as we explore who we are and what we want to do with this gift called life. What will you do with this incredible opportunity? Will you do as many of us do and travel along quite happily, sticking to the major, well travelled routes? Will you veer off occasionally to explore a tempting dirt track that appears, apparently out of nowhere? Or will you develop a lifelong taste for the wild, hidden places that are never found on any roadmap? All valid choices of course. But there is one path that is arguably the biggest, scariest and most satisfying ride that you could ever take - the inner path. People who choose to devote themselves to this sacred journey are often mistakenly depicted as being frivolous navel gazers who should snap out of it and come back to the real world. This is often one of the first challenges placed in the way of the initiate of this path, as they overcome their own biases to enable them to surrender to the call within.
The Moon in the Tarot represents the feminine path of intuitive knowing. Here, She is in Her dark phase and symbolises the descent into the underworld, that mysterious, terrifying place in which or greatest fears lie waiting. She appears in a reading to let us know that in order to progress any further along our journey, we must turn away from the solar world of work and other distractions, and focus our attention on finding out the true source of any fears or unhappiness that just keep manifesting themselves in our lives in one way or another. Only through facing what frightens us the most are we able to see these manifestations for what they really are; figments of our imagination, illusions created by the mind to keep us from tearing down the walls that have fenced us in for so long. The reward for having the great courage needed to look inside oneself is this freedom from fear. Now we can feel the joy of resting in the light that is re-discovered once the darkness has been dispersed. Now we know - we know our Truth.
Take care everyone.
"If that which thou seekest, thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee..."
(excerpt from The Wiccan Charge)
Sinner
Try Whistling This (Neil Finn)