The Woman's Garden
(Pg. 5)
SEPTEMBER
Three Of Swords:
Minor Arcana/Saturn In
Libra
"Time Is A Healer"
(Eva Cassidy), "My Brother"
(Tiddas), "Let Your Nature"
(The Voices Of Gaia);
Rose Quartz, Aquamarine, Aqua Aura;
Lavender, Motherwort.
Greetings!
"They won't give peace a chance. That was just a dream some of us had" (California: Joni Mitchell). Well, they still won't, but some of us still believe in the dream. There are a lot of reasons why peace can be so hard to come by in this world - both on a global scale and within our own lives. One of the biggest reasons is suppressed pain. Allow me to introduce you to the 3 of Swords. Whenever I meet this card in a reading, I just know I'm in for a bit of pain, but also for enormous relief. This card has been teaching me a lot of lessons recently. My oh my how I've struggled against it, pushed it away, found a zillion other things to do instead of paying attention to what it's been trying to tell me. Of course, I just wasn't ready to deal with the issues in my life which had caused the card to appear, wasn't ready to do the work necessary to FREE myself. But when I was - ahh...the sweet melancholy feeling of embracing the sadness, and the release of the tightness in my body, in my Heart. And then the reconnection with the world, like waking up from a dream, floating on the calm sea after flailing about in the frantic storm tossed waves.
This card is actually one of the best cards for healing, on all levels, in the pack. It shows us that there is pain trapped within our Heart that, if left unattended, will slowy consume us. It is easy to develop the habit of letting the injuries of life pile up inside of us, leading to all kinds of health problems and leaving us bitter, angry, and without compassion. So, how to remedy this? Because the sorrow is so heavy, it can be very difficult to recognise the source of our pain let alone to talk about it. So start dancing, painting, gardening, listening to music - whatever it is that helps you to leave your mind and connect with your feelings. Then start writing - just start, you'll eventually get to how you really feel, to what the pain's about. Be gentle with yourself as this is a time of great vulnerability. The process will take as long as it does, there's no right or wrong way of feeling and the rewards of your efforts will be considerable. When we can understand our pain and release it, we not only free ourselves from suffering, thus contributing to our personal
well-being. The 3 of Swords teaches us a valuable lesson in what unexpressed pain and anguish can do to a person, how it can dim the Souls' light, sometimes all but extinguishing it. If we can learn from our own sorrow, then this can help us to have compassion for those still imprisoned within theirs. Just IMAGINE where all of this compassion and understanding could lead the world...?
Journey well everyone.
OCTOBER
Eight Of Cups: Minor Arcana/Saturn In Pisces
"I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor), "It's My Life" (No Doubt);
Rose Quartz, Obsidian, Onyx, Amber;
Lavender, Rosemary;
Birch Tree, Ash Tree.
Hi everyone!
I tell you what, I'm so in love with this Spring weather! It's extremely hard to stay inside and get anything domestic done, and far easier to give in to the temptation of frolicking outside in the very pleasant sunshine days! (Check out The Brady Bunch Movie, "Sunshine Day"). Which is kind of one of the main things about this time of year - we find ourselves unable to do anything but surrender to that irresistable pull of Spring! We clean out our cupboards, we start new projects, we feel the thrill of new romance! And we can also use these powerful energies of change to clean out our bodies and minds, on all levels; physically, mentally, emotionally and Spiritually. And one of the things that should be on the top of your "to go" list is guilt. The Eight of Cups appears in a reading to inform us that we need to take a little look at our personal boundaries because we are, literally, swamped, and no further growth will occur until we find out why.
Do you have trouble saying "NO" when you really want to? Do you live in fear of someone taking their love and approval away from you if you do, or if you stand up for your needs? And then, if they do react in such a way do you always find yourself responding by shouldering the blame, ("must be my fault"), instead of seeing how the other person has acted in a conditional way by punishing you for stating where you stand, or because you have not lived up to their expectations? This is called projected guilt, guilt which another person has either consciously or unconsciously made us feel, causing us to blame ourselves for something that is not ours to bear. It is one of the most destructive forces for the Soul to have to endure and indeed is one of the oldest tricks in the book, in regards to controlling a situation and getting people to do what you
want them to do. Both manipulating another in this way, and allowing someone to manipulate us, are behavioural patterns that can become serious stumbling blocks to our progress through life, affecting the way we relate to everyone, and thus how our world is created around us.
The image of the Eight of Cups presented in the Thoth deck of cards is pretty depressing and uninspiring, to say the least. It shows the result of a build up of toxic emotions that have left us feeling very drained, sluggish and unable to hear our Hearts' voice. However, the positive note amongst the gloomy symphony is that we are clearly presented with what it is that we need to address in order to regain our lost balance and, being a number 8, that we are entering a new phase in our journey. The challenge lies in our willingness to look within to find the source of our unhappiness, and then to let it go, however painful this may be, so that we can move forward. One of the most difficult yet liberating lessons which this card offers us is realising that it is not our resonsibility to work out someone elses' issues for them - indeed, if we continue to do this, not only are we contributing to our own misery, we are also keeping another person from learning to help themselves and to stop blaming other people for not being the magical pill that solves everything for them. You don't necessarily have to cut someone out of your life, but it's important for your growth, and theirs, that you energetically hand back any such manipulative energy. Life on this Earth realm passes by so swiftly; if you blink you'll miss it. Why spend even a nanosecond of this precious time weighed down by somebody elses' unresolved life lessons?
Until next time, journey well.
