The Woman's Garden
(Pg. 9)
JUNE
10 of Wands:
Minor Arcana/
Saturn in Sagittarius
Burnout, Overburdened,
Extreme;
Rose Quartz, Clear Quartz, Aquamarine;
Lavender, Sage; Noni Fruit;
Green Tea;
Nature;
"Watching The Wheels" (John Lennon),
"Holiday" (Madonna),
"You Dont Have To Cry" (Crosby, Stills & Nash).
Hi everyone.
A Native American friend of mine once asked me about the feather that I was wearing in my hair. He wanted to know why I was wearing it in the way that traditionally signified that I was at peace with the world (pointing downwards), when I was so clearly at odds with it. "What are you talking about?" I asked him in bewilderment. "Obviously he doesn't know what he's on about", I told myself. After all, I had a full life, friends, things I cared about. Many moons later, lying in an exhausted heap on the couch, his words came back to me and I chose to surrender to his wisdom. Worn out, miserable, passionless - these were words I could relate to. Peaceful? Hmm...Clearly not. If I'd had a reading at that time, the 10 of Wands would have leapt out of the pack at me.
Burnout. It's a state of being that more and more of us are experiencing in this fast-paced, technology addicted world that we have created around us, with lives that have somehow been filled with many responsibilities. There's deadlines to keep, assignments to write, families to care for, and if you're not living you life in balance, these everyday life events can become very demanding. Responsibility to ourselves, especially our need to relax and unwind, can easily fly out the window. The pressure of trying to be everywhere at once, and do everything for everybody can eventully take its toll. Life turns into a burden as dutifully we soldier on, continuing to say yes to all that is asked of us, forever searching for better methods to fit more into the day, to save time. The irony is, of course, that we end up manifesting a situation where we have no time.
In the Tarot, the Minor Arcana of the four suits number from Ace to Ten, the Aces representing new beginings, and the Tens, conclusion, through the challenge of letting go. With the Wands, we have come to a place in time where if we continue to blindly push on, we'll suffer the consequences. Repressing our natural urges to let go in favour of "getting on wih it", can leave us depressed, exhausted and angry, and in the worse case scenario, very ill. The good news is that, as always, (even in the most difficult of circumstances), we have a choice. There are many people in this world, well known and anonymous, who, at some stage in their Journey, have found the strength and courage within themselves needed to change the direction their lives were taking, thereby overcoming huge obstacles and emerging as inspirations to us all. Sometimes it seems impossible to change our circumstances for the better, and yet the Universal Truth remains: that we can follow the same path we've been journeying down, or take another.
Goodbye until next time, and I shall leave you with this: know that you are only human, and treat yourself the way you would treat someone you really loved.
JULY
7 Of Discs: Minor Arcana/Saturn in Taurus
Patience, Fear;
Rose Quartz, Carnelian, Tigers Eye;
Sage, Rosemary, Mint;
"Sunshine Superman" (Donovan)
"Imagine" (John Lennon),
"From Little Things, Big Things Grow" (Paul Kelly).
Hi everyone!
Are you one of those people who are blessed with infinite amounts of patience? Do you just know that that plan you're working on is going to come to fruition it its own good time, and that worrying about it is a complete waste of your precious energy? You are? Great - how about letting the rest of us in on your little secret?
There are many skills that we need to learn as we're growing up; how to talk our parents into letting us borrow the car to go to that unsupervised party which they don't know about, (covering up - another highly prized skill), how to smile politely at that well-meaning relative who's now in their third hour of "when I was young...", how to appreciate the finer qualities of "The Bold and The Beautiful" and "Neighbours" - stuff like that. But the art of patience will arguably take you further than any of these abilities.
The 7 of Discs in the Thoth deck is called "Failure", a fact that has caused many a clients' face to drop in a reading when this card comes along to share its wisdom. However, panic is not necessary! The creation of anything new requires us to work through many levels as we move from inspiration to manifestation. When we are working on a project, there are always those times when we come to a place of stillness, when we may start to think that things aren't working, that we've failed. The 7 of Discs tells us that all that's happening is that the seeds we have previously planted haven't sprouted as quickly as we thought they would, causing us to leap to the conclusion that they never will.
It is only the FEAR of failure that we are experiencing, a state of affairs that, if not addressed and unmasked for what it really is - an illusion separating us from the reality of our situation - can lead to us creating the very outcome we dread as we give up and walk away. This card is challenging us to be patient and allow the required amount of time needed to pass in order for our projects to reach their full potential.
Until next time, stay warm and cosy and take comfort in that which makes your Heart sing!
