Walk In Beauty

April 7: Daughter of Wands, Haindl Tarot

The Daughter (Princess) of Wands in Haindl's interpretation is the avatar of The Fire Within... (I find it intriguing that we have drawn this card on the Full Moon of Alder, which represents Fire in the Head). The card is peaceful, bright but calm, and Radha's face is contemplative, musing, the soft smile on her lips indicative of something very beautiful going on inside her mind and heart.

This card is not complex of interpretation, and that in itself is actually part of its meaning and significance. Today Radha calls us to look quietly inside ourselves, to look peacefully at our immediate surroundings, and to see the beauty which is always there but which we so often ignore. Today, it is about small things. Look at this peaceful woman, and try to envision that expression of contentment on your own face. Listen to the lovely ethereal tones of her flute as it plays for you within the silence of your own mind. Smile inwardly today about something within your own head, something lovely that no one else knows about, that is there only for you. For just this moment, for just this day, look around you and draw peace and contentment from your own surroundings. This is your day. This is your world. You are part of life's loveliness. You are beauty. You walk in beauty. Go peacefully into this day. It is yours.

So We're Toteming Again...

April 6, 2012: Badger, Druid Animal Oracle

I wouldn't have believed this kind of draw could happen three consecutive times by accident--indeed, I don't believe it did or does. So totem beasts--the word that actually means "my clan's companion" in Ojibway, the language where it was first recorded, are somehow significant for us this day, and even this week. So perhaps all whom you think of as Clann, family, need to take note of the energies of the animals speaking to us here. So, what about Badger?

Badgers were highly revered by the Celts, with Badger skins found buried in the graves of chieftains. The nickname "Brock" is derived from its old Gaelic name of Brocc. Pictish Druids were known as Badgers. This is probably because the Badger lives deep within the earth, the supposed dwelling place of gods and ancestral spirits, and is therefore privy to their secrets, including the mysterious germination of life that takes place in the underworld. The Badger is one of the sacred animals of the goddess Brigantia and a totem of her Imbolc festival, when the Celtic women gathered together to celebrate the rebirth of spring symbolized by the Badger emerging from beneath the earth, just as new growth mysteriously emerges from the ground. In America, the immigrant Irish didn't find the native British badgers, but found ground-hogs, a related animal with similar habits--hence, "Ground Hog Day" on Imbolc.

If it sometimes seems that the whole world is against you, turning you into the "Badger in a bag", then listen to the lessons of Badger. His defenses are his fortitude and his indomitable will, even against overwhelming odds. He does not waste time on blame or regret, but stands his ground, tenacious and unyielding. If you feel powerless and angry, stop blaming other people, they can only make you feel what you allow them to. Go within yourself and find the power of Badger - centered, grounded, and unshakeable. Badger may be advising you that healing may come from earth-based therapies, such as herbs, essential oils, massage, and body work, from grounding and feeling your deep connection to the physical realm. Badger may be instructing you not to share your Deep Self with those who will not appreciate you, but nevertheless to maintain loyalty to who you really are. And most specifically, Badger is telling you not to hide your self from your Self. Open up to all the facets of your personality, and stand firm for Who You Are. Io Evoe!

Changing My Skin....

April 5, 2012: Snake, Druid Animal Oracle

Today we have another reptile for our Animal Totem, "Snake." I find it interesting that the random draw for your TarotWitch hasn't been Tarot the last few days. The Druid Animal Oracle usually appears when what is being sent is a message of deep personal import, not quite so cosmically oriented but directed deliberately to one person, or several people, who need the energy of this "totem" in their lives right now. So--I think it might be for me, and it might be for you, too. Let's look...

The snake was an important animal for the ancient Celts; far from being the symbol of evil that it became among the early Christians, it was a creature that represented many aspects of God/dess, including fertility, healing and renewal. Snakes were also depicted as beings who were connected with deities of healing springs and wells, such as Brighid. A snake's movements are sinuous and wave-like, like the course of a river. So it is a prime example of "earth of water."

Because the snake sheds its skin each year and appears renewed, it was thought to be immortal, and the epitome of healing and renewal. Every time the snake sheds its skin, it becomes a "new being." Might be well for us to remember here that every seven years, we do that too. You don't have a single cell in your body that was there seven years ago. Yes, you have been reborn. You.
The snake has long been associated with sagacity, cunning and divination. It was commonly thought that having your ears licked clean by a serpent would enable you to receive oracular wisdom. The Druids were known in Wales as "Nadredd," or adders. The famous bard Taliesin declared, "I am a wiseman, I am a serpent" When St Patrick is said to have boasted that he had driven all the snakes out of Ireland, some people believe he meant the Druids. (And of course, some people believe he said no such thing, ever, but we can't know, can we?)

Snake may be telling you that you are blocking change through fear, through your need to hold on to the safe and familiar. Snake power is about healing on all levels, but you must have the courage to allow healing to take place, shedding outgrown ideas, illnesses and restrictions. Sometimes healing and growth mean shedding your skin and letting yourself be born anew. Let's do that!

White Light...

April 4, 2012: Lizard, Druid Animal Oracle

Today our Animal totem is "Lizard". For the Celts, the Lizard was an animal of the sun, a representative of midsummer's magic. Its name in Welsh (lleufer) and Gaelic (Luachair) associate it with white light. Lizards are also emblems of resurrection. Some ancient authorities thought they hibernated during the cold winter, going blind, then emerged in the spring warmth climbing an east facing wall and looking into the sunshine, which restored their eyesight. In addition, the Lizard is able to break off its tail, which writhes and distracts predators long enough to allow the Lizard to make its escape. The Lizard can only do this once, as the regenerated tissue is formed from cartilage rather than bone. But its seminal change of being gives it an opportunity for rebirth.

The Irish once believed that a person who licked a Lizard all over would be able to heal sores with his or her tongue. The Shaman believes that Lizard guards the gate of dreaming. He may be advising you that studying your dreams will be useful. You might begin today to keep a book by the side of your bed, and record what you recall of your dreams as soon as you awake, even if it is only a feeling or impression that you remember. Lizard is inviting you to experience your own "new life", the one you live within your subconscious mind.

Lizard is a master of all arts of divination. If you want to use Tarot cards, oracles, runestones, or the scrying mirror, you need the magic of lizard. He teaches you the art of being able to shift the consciousness just enough to see as the seer does. Small, unobtrusive, and yet able to insert himself seamlessly almost anywhere he wishes to go, Lizard is the avatar of the unexpected, the constant thread of change and surprise that is the earmark of the awakened life. Welcome Lizard into your life today, and see where he might lead you.

Where Are We Going?

April 3, 2012: The Guide (Temperance), Tarot Of The Old Path

You know, there are no accidents--

I do these draws online, with a random selection of cards in a digital list, and I hop around with the cursor, eyes closed, before the Spirits guide me to press the button and choose the daily card--So, to my mind, especially since there are six different decks in my listing, all cards being differently named, I think these draws are truly random. Soooo....what would be the odds of two consecutive cards in the same deck being drawn on two consecutive days? Infinitesimal--but that's what we've done today.

"Temperance" follows "Death" in the traditional Tarot, as here "The Guide", drawn today, follows "The Close" drawn yesterday. So--what is the Universe telling us here?

Temperance carries on the theme of change and growth. The lowering of the woman into the water has connotations of being “baptized” or prepared for a different life following the transformation of Death. The Sacred figures in Temperance could be witnessing and welcoming the woman’s transition to this new inner life through a ritual washing with the waters from the Sun. There is a difficult time ahead.

Temperance represents the gift of balance and cleansing before one enters the dark night of the soul – Devil and Tower. The Angel takes on a new significance as a Guide through the forthcoming difficult time and the presence of the Lord and Lady gives hope that the dark night of the soul is a simply a ritual transition to another level of consciousness. Others have traveled before us and there are guides on the journey. We will remember the hope.

In the Tree of Life, Temperance is found on the 25th Path between Tiphareth (Beauty) and Yesod (Foundation) – spiritual reality and the dark unconscious. The spiritual and the material worlds are in balance. All is as it should be although the path may be difficult. Refreshed by the hope of Temperance, we keep our balance, stay on our path and head towards joy and enlightenment.

From this card, I get a sense of the suspension of time itself. Everyone seems to be waiting to see what happens next, except the angel, who steadily pours, and the woman, who looks as if she's beyond it all now. I get the feeling that the man has either just asked the Angel (or is about to) for assistance, to please do something to restore this woman to him, somehow.

I also get the impression that the man on the card has asked the Goddess and God to come to his aid. He knows not what to do with his lifeless companion, or whether there is any hope. And, of course, they have come, although whether or not they will choose to intervene on his behalf is in question. Clearly, this is a man in need of some guidance.

Sometimes, the Gods alone know, and only they can provide the guidance necessary in such a troubled, confusing circumstance. They can intercede if that is what's best, and many times, I believe, that's precisely what they do. But the way it's done is usually a mystery to us, and so we have to go on faith alone. I also think this is a lesson being illustrated here.

I see the angel as indicating the path of the flow of the soul, from one vessel into another, the concept of reincarnation in action. I feel that this card is directly related to the previous one, in the respect that all things must change, here we have a glimpse of what they may change into.

I'm still shaking my head here. You?

Ah, Death....

April 2, 2012: The Close (Death), Tarot Of The Old Path

This card will always make people pause and think if it is drawn. Most of us have something of an atavistic "gut reaction" to the concept of Death, which is instantaneous rejection coupled with the drop in the tummy and the inner "oh NOOOOOEEEESSS!" And so, today, as a daily draw on a day when I have huge things going on, yes, even your TarotWitch went AAAUUGGGHH....

I did immediately pick up the phone and notice we had a voice mail (the phone isn't turned on for the day yet) so I listened to it, and heard my mother's wonderful voice sounding quite healthy and happy, thankewverrymudch...so there was one sigh of relief. However, here's the card, still, in all its gloom and doom--yes, it's pretty--buuuuuttt.....And then, then, I really looked at the card. And I got better--

CHANGE. It means CHANGE. It means "death of the old, rebirth of the new" (see the baby in the corner waving goodbye to the old guy?) The heron standing in the stream is a long-held symbol of death and rebirth, as is the snowy owl floating along behind the Death figure. The primroses in the left-hand corner as well as the borage in the right corner are significant--the early spring emergence of primrose is "new life" while the constantly evolving nature of borage (stems, seeds, flowers and dead husks all on the plant at once) screams "Change Is Coming"....

And that couldn't be more apt for my day. Huge changes coming tonight in my Path, as well as some lesser changes in more mundane things. The card is a reminder to "ride the river" and know that whatever comes, it is supposed to be there, and that one cannot evolve without change. So--what are you supposed to willingly let "die" today, and how will you be "reborn"?

Do it. Quit the job, file for the divorce, sign the lease, enroll in the class, make the apology, take the chance, learn the lesson. You will always be reborn--but the past must be laid to rest first.

Fire In The Head...WyrdByrd....

April 1: Ace Of Swords, Utah Maninni One Tarot

Well, I had my consciousness raised yesterday, and this card is one more proof to me that there are, indeed, no accidents. I am getting personal insight from the Universe on some of my longest-held perceptions, and it's turning my head around. Let me 'splain....

I am a die-hard (I thought) Air-Wands, Fire-Swords girl. It made sense to me on every level--after all, trees breathe out oxygen, don't they? and of course tree-branches will always be my chosen wand-stuff--and you can't make a sword without fire, and the blade looks like, and is made with, the flame--and of course wooden twigs are flexible (like thoughts) and swords are pointed, direct, and double-edged (like the will)....So, I thought, TarotWitch has this one down, but good. Right?.......Well, maybe.....

I had a class yesterday on British Traditional Witchcraft, to learn some background and ethos from a master of the Arte. And he said that he himself was creating a tarot deck, and he had the exact same views--and the deck didn't work. Until, he said, he got a cosmic ass-kick that it was, of course, exactly the other way around. Fire. he discovered, wasn't the forge-fire at all--not a man-made fire. It was the dawn-fire, the rising Sun, not the fire in the hearth, all safe and controlled, but the cosmic Fire of Awakening, the Fire of Inspiration, the Fire-In-The-Head of the Bard. And North, for a BTW (and for this American Shamanic 1734 Witch) is Air, the Polar Star, the Iron of the North, that draws all things, that creates thought and idea from cosmic harmony---the Lode-Stone, the MotherLode, the source of Ideas/Ideals...

And it all rang true. And it all made sense to me, as well as it had to him. I began to re-think it--and then, today's draw, in affirmation, is this particular Ace of Swords, the White Owl (my own personal totem beast) with the sword going right through hir head, opening brain-paths to new ideas... No, there are no accidents....

So--how are you having your mind changed today? How is the Lodestone bringing your thoughts into harmony whilst letting them fly free? Where is the place where you have to discard a long-held theory and think Anew? Works for me...