Arcana in the Outback

Nestled in Colorado's Outback are healers, spirit walkers, conjurers of good will, women who walk dry paths to bring light and joy to the high plains.

Elizabeth is a small town that changes yet stays the same, shimmering as the heart of the endless prairie.  Once it was an artists' colony with dirt roads.  On the outskirts today Walmart reminds us of change.

I walk down Main Street.  The Carlson Building, for decades the only public gathering place, is now a used clothing store.  Jeff's exquisite rug shop is only a memory.  I wonder where Lisa teaches yoga now.   A new Apothecary shop lures me and I wander along jars filled with marinating herbs and spices and smile.

Next to the Wildflower, the best saddle repair shop for decades, is the Karma Cottage.  Magic comes to Main Street.  I am delighted with all the physical tools to encourage spirit into our daily lives.  It reminds me The Stone Moon in Bellingham, Washington.

Not only do I find must-have Celtic earrings but two books by long time friends.  I buy a copy of Eva Black Tail Swan's book.

Connie Lehman and I talked of her artwork on the Major Arcana many years ago.  Like all magic, the idea comes first, then the work and finally~voila, in my hands, a beautifully produced book and deck of 22 cards, written with Irene Clurman.  The Fool rejoices.

Find more about Connie's deck at:

          tarotlifecards.com

The Lovers Knock on your Door

When The Lovers Knock on Your Door

A wind blows clouds asunder.  Blue sky opens to higher power, the realm of unseen helpers.

But what's in your face?  What choices dominate your monkey mind?

This month women of Tea & Tarot slept with The Lovers and invited them in for tea.  My Lovers card flipped behind the bed, out of reach and I had to ask my lover to retrieve it for me.  Asking for help is not what I usually associate with this card.  But I will now.  An aspect of this engaging image, asking and receiving, knowing what the choice is and accepting the outcome.  We gather to find our own understanding of the cards, to enhance our perceptions, to "own" the deck.

First I see the importance of integrating the masculine and feminine within.  Once we blend  these two aspects, we can be more successful in our relationships, in making wiser choices, in stepping out of our comfort zone to experience new horizons.

Today we celebrated one year of tarot study, gathering once a month and examining the Major Arcana in sequence and as it relates to the pip cards and the tarot constellations as developed by Angeles Arrien and Mary K. Greer.

The Thoth deck Lovers

Each deck offers symbols that pull us into greater understanding of ourselves.  Do you have a favorite deck?  What do The Lovers ask of you?

 

 

  

Blue Moon 2012

Sunset on Lake Whatcom

We walk to shoreline, looking down the lake toward Bellingham as the sun glows a soft apricot on water.  Turning toward the spit, we walk hand in hand as the air chills.  We pause toward the end, not wanting to intrude on a couple fishing.  I stare into the deep clear water, our drinking water, too cold for a swim.

As we walk back, Michael points out a bench facing Stewart Mountain.  It is a new bench inscribed in memory of a couple.  We sit close.  I gather his warmth through my heavy jacket, hold his hand as he puts it in the pocket of the yellow fleece jacket I gave him years ago.  Still I'm cold waiting for moonrise.  I stretch my legs across his.  He is always warmer than I am.

Blue heron waits for blue moon

We watch the stillness of a blue heron practicing gigong as she waits for the blue moon.  She dives only once, flies flat just above the water line and returns for her vigil.  We wait.  I miscalculated the time of moonrise, forgetting to allow for the sight restrictions of the mountain across the lake, our favorite sky viewing spot.

We talk.  We listen.  We remember other full moons.  Seagulls squawk their impatience.  We are both cold now, cuddled up on that bench waiting.  Perhaps we are both just about to say "let's go home and have dinner."

"Look!"  I point and catch my breath with the intensity of the spotlight floating on the mountain ridge.  She rises quickly like a million wings lifting her.  A small glimmer of white water her first reflection.  Ducks circle in the growing water light.  Bats careen between us and the moon.  The silver light opens, a swath across the lake, touching us.  No one between us and the moon but her watery reflection and lake animals.

We bathe in blue moonlight for time without timing.  He is mesmerized by her sudden appearance and marvels as we walk back to the car.  No, he doesn't make gender references.  I do for surely the divine feminine is alive and well and linking me to the Universe tonight.

Photo credit:  C.J. Prince

When do The Lovers call you?

The Lovers from DruidCraft Tarot & Gaian Tarot decks

As I change the sheets, I gather up the stones under my pillow:  rose quartz, Tibetan tektite, amethyst, golden quartz, garnet, magnesite, aventurine, selenite, calcite.  And the DruidCraft Lovers card.

The tarot study group will examine The Lovers next month so everyone is invited to sleep with the card, observe dreams, and feelings upon awaking.  I've slept really well so far!  Except for the madness of the skies and the Perseid meteor showers flashing overhead.

Today The Lovers asked me what I was separated from.  (I'd stopped changing the sheets and went to the Gaian deck for another image.)  What is not integrated in my life that needs to be.  What do I want and how do I  choose to obtain it with harmony?  Is my masculine and feminine out of balance?  What are my choices today?  Keep it simple.

Even the astrological blurb in the Bellingham Herald this morning advised not taking on too much.  Making the bed may the height of today's accomplishments at this rate.

Do you look at one card at a time?  Really look at it?  Find out how it relates to your life now?  The invitation is always open.

Bright blessings as the Universe unfolds.

 You sit at your kitchen table with a circle of women.  Each one has a deck--or two--or more.  And you cannot help yourself.  You covet.  You share your decks as they share and oh, you do want that one, oh, and look, there at that Fool.  You simply must ...

That's how the Llewellyn Tarot deck got on my Must-Have List.  And now I do.  I go through the deck, peering at each card with recognition and surprise and delight.  A new deck brings new insights.  You cannot stay complacently thinking you know what each card will say.  They call out to you in new ways, give you hints you had not considered.

How do you get to know a new deck?  I usually sleep with it.  Haul it around with me at the bottom of my bag, pull it out and show it to friends.  I talk to it.  It talks to me.  We become friends.

I tried to order from Llewellyn, the publishers of this deck but the site would not allow me to order.  And I was in that must-have mode and impatient to go downtown to one of several metaphysical stores.  I ordered from Amazon and it arrived quickly.  Good luck with your next choice and getting to know a new friend.

Of course, there are women at the table who work exclusively with one deck.  They really know that old friend.  I wonder and wait to see what new friendship might lure them.  The possibilities are endless.

Sweet dreams, Deck Lovers.

Rachael Pollack

Check out Rachel's commentary:
http://globalspiritualstudies.com/shop/presentations/tarot/rachel-pollack-prophesy-oracles-fate-and-tarot/

Dannah Davidson doesn't believe in the tarot.  But her best friend Nirvana reads the cards and tells her what she sees.  Dannah overcomes the  terror of domestic abuse with the help of her friends in "Catching My Breath", available at Amazon.com