Me and Tarot – How did it start?

The Soprafino is very special to me, as it represents a little family history:

My grandmother Elizza (1869 to 1956) had one and used to read with it. Remembering seeing this deck when I was a little girl and looking at the old worn out frayed cards together with my mother is ultimately, what later brought me to Tarot.

Today I have an ever growing circle of Tarot clients , that come for readings, I correspond with other Tarot enthusiasts on the Aeclectic Tarot forums and I deepen my personal knowledge about Tarot and reading images on an ongoing basis.

Every couple of months or so I pick out a new deck, expose myself to its imagery and see, where that leads.

I welcome you, to look over my shoulder 🙂

Right now,I am looking at the”Roots of Asia Tarot  as my “Deck for the summer Month:

Solstice Reading Card 12: Cheater or not?

12. Parvati, Earth Mother – June 25:

The card shows us how to ground ourselves and how to connect with the earth’s abundance.

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Page of Stones, the Wren

So there is an old hollowed out Tree stump, overgrown with lush green moss. It seems to be the ideal nesting cavity, because 2 Birds seem to be competing for it:

A tiny Goldcrest,

the truly smallest Bird in all of Britain and a Wren, a Bird often assumed to be the smallest one. Wrens are a bit of an imposture. In the olden times the Goldcrest – due to its crest was called the King of all Birds – until a myth arose, giving this title to the cheating Wren. The tale goes somewhat like this: There was a contest amongst the Birds, which one could fly the highest up into the sky. Well, the Eagle could and soared above all other Birds – until a tiny Wren crawled out among his feathers and fluttered right above the Eagle’s head.

Rascal that! It stole 2 Birds their title of honour.

Today I am settled with this cheater.

So how can he connect me with my reverence for the beautiful and merciful sacred Earth Mother that shows mercy and patience and still continues to provide for all her living creatures including us greedy destructive self centred human beings?

Oh I am soooo aware of the continually escalating havoc humans wreck in our environment and the plight we unleash upon all other living Beings, that, in reality, are kin to us, but are loosing their habitat, the clean water, Earth’s lifeblood and that so slowly dying out.

Humans are cheaters, like the Wren. Pretending to do something, giving lip-service.

I could go on here, but this is just a Tarot reading…..

You all KNOW, what is at stake!

No the Wren is no the ideal Being, to connect me to the abundance of Mother Earth and a deeper understanding of environmental issues.

Or is it?

The Wren does, what Wrens do, following their own nature.

It is just a Bird, a cute one at that. I saw Cactus Wrens and Canyon Wrens in the wild this spring 🙂

The legend it is, that speaks of the cheater.

Humans? Are we cheaters? Are we not ultimately cheating ourselves?

Is THAT our true nature?

Pages are students.

When will humans be ready to learn AND follow their hard lessons?

Solstice Reading day 11 Tough teachers

11. Guru Purnima – June 24:

Indian festival of expressing gratitude to teachers.

This card reminds us of a lesson we have learned, or an experience or person that has taught us something, that we should remember and have gratitude for as we move forward.

Death

Blue stands for truth

the card is blue. In its centre rests the partially de-fleshed skull of a Deer.

A Crow, the Guardian and teacher of the Sacred Law – cause and effect just ripped of another morsel of decaying flesh. Other Crows are circling.

Yes, death IS my most important teacher

In my life i had at least 5 full blown near death experiences.

The first one, when I was less than 3 years old. Diphtheria and the long journey into flirrrrring light, where a lovely lady, later identified as Umai E’ene lovingly hugged me – and send me back to battle for just one more breath – and one more after that…..

Then the one in the orphanage, after all my welts – from the beating had infected my heart valve…

The last NDE was in1999 when I was without vitals for 19 minutes and yet again sen back in a lifeless body with cracked ribs and burn marks on my chest from all the CPR performed at Scottsdale, AZ hospital……

Death and me, we dance a dance.

Around my patients, many of whom are sick with terminal cancer or the like……

Often I win a few months or even years from him for them.

But in the end we both know, Death will win.

Has to –

It is the Sacred Law.

A month ago on New Moon I did a shamanic “Kamlani” (a Siberian Spirit calling/ healing session the way my People do them) for one of my beloved human teachers. Pleading for a few more years, drumming away the blue shimmering cancer cells in his common bile duct…..

Cancer cells = Death cells do not like the combination of heat, vibrations of a certain kind and the drum is the oldest weapon we have to – just bust Death cells…..

OK, they also do not like certain chemicals – drugs – and certain herbal combinations – like Essiac….

Death taught me a lot.

Death at times can be a good friend to those he visites.

Some hope for him to finally come….

Some see him as a short-cut out of life – – ??

Him and me, we will dance together again – soon……

Solstice reading card 10 Bear Medicine

10. Saint John’s Eve – June 23:

Like the herbs traditionally gathered on St. John’s Eve, this card shows what protects or heals us.

The Guardian = there is no “Devil” in the Greenwood Tarot.

The skeletal Spirit of a long extinct Cave Bear rises growling at the entrance of her fiery cave, barring entrance to anyone who does not have the right combination of gumption, humility and knowledge to make it past her into the sanctum of the deep and honest Self.

She is the pompous ass and big ego eater and every aspiring shaman will get confronted and rejected by her over and over and over again. (They are all on Facebook, writing about their wondrous feats – in case you wondered.)

If you make it past her, she will protect you, from them, and ultimately from yourself.

How I got past her the very first time, many decades ago is a looong story…..

For me and my People in Siberia Ee’ren Adik the bear is the Guardian of the Eastern Door – the one leading into the future, where among all the nice stuff also all the “albis” lurk, the disease spirits a Medicine person must battle with.

Here in Canada, Ma-qua the Bear is the one who teaches you about strengths, goodness and knowledge of self – Bear also teaches healing with herbs and guides shamans and healers when working with patients.

I treat my patients while they are resting on a large Bear fur…….

I find it very auspicious seeing, that herbs were gathered on this day.

I DO have quite a beef with christian saints appropriating ancient old traditions and giving them a christian whitewash and could write 5 pages on that.

The Summer Solstice was and is the special time, when northern European pre-christian People used to gather their healing herbs and put them up for winter use!!

Today “Bayan Adik” is growling at me for running myself ragged and also seeing to it, that I get another day of rest. To make it easier for me the electricity came back on and – good or bad – 2 of my clients for Tarot readings cancelled on me today, citing the nasty thunderstorm weather we are still having as a reason.

So I am resting in my Bear Cave today, waiting, until I have some more meat and some fur on my bare bones again.

I will need that tomorrow!

Solstice reading day 9: Tarot Card Advice

9. Honey Moon – June 22:

This card shows us how to release anxieties or worries, how to enjoy ourselves in this moment.

4 of Arrows

YES!!

I sooooo need that!

A huge Butterfly hovers protectively over a person reclining amids t4 staked arrows.

Is he/ she on a shamanic journey/ altered state of consciousness or merely sleeping, maybe dreaming?

I should opt for the former – with my line of work and all, this card often prompts me to journey, in order to uncover causes an solutions to problems, but today, honestly – I am opting for sleeping.

I have soooooooo much to do and sooooo much stuff is piling up, but after drawing this card early in the morning I opted to crawl back to bed for a while and take it easy today.

The pile of stuff to do will be there tomorrow.

Solstice reading card 8: Burning up Energy

8. Summer Solstice – June 21:

We are at the height of the sun’s power, the longest day, in the Northern Hemisphere.

This card shows us how to shine our own light like the Sun. 

2 of Wands

Well, the card sure looks like a Sun Person. I often see one of my Ancestor Guides like this with light and Medicine Energy radiating from her ethereal body.

In this card the Spirit Person is standing between the 2 wands, which also emanate light and fiery energy outward. The ground is illuminated by what looks like “Saint Johannes Fire” and the sparkling stars compete with an army of Fireflies.

How beautiful and energetic it looks!

The Summer Solstice in Canada is also National Aboriginal Day and many celebrations are taking place everywhere. Normally on the Summer solstice I am teaching and holding ceremony, but this year I knew, that Peter was away and it being a Wednesday and thereby Farmer’s Market day, I opted to just go to the Market. My friend, who is Native, her daughter and I greeted customers with “Happy Summer Solstice and happy National Aboriginal Day” and so raised awareness….

I had been up at 4.30 and watched the dawn rise, but here we had no sun. It was a dark morning, threatening rain, but by noon the sun came out and the temperature quickly climbed to seasonal.

I pulled this card of the day well after I got home, had completed my new routine of starting the generator and a million other mundane but necessary things. When I looked at the image, it made me take a deep breath. How beautiful and celebratory it is!

I was soooo exhausted, but it brought the light of the Solstice into my heart in a very visceral way.

 

Solstice reading card 7: My lucky number

7 Scrying – June 20:

In the tradition of scrying at the time of Midsummer, this card shows us a blessing to come. 

Five of Stones.

A person is sitting just inside the protective arch of a cave entrance while multiple lightning bolts from all sides speak of “heavy weather”. Nonetheless the person has managed to light a small fire, not so much for warmth but rather for comfort. The person is in a reflective mood, looking pensively into the flames.

I too am in a reflective mood today.

This morning I realized, I just barely dodged a bullet without even knowing about it.

I am sooooo lucky!

I went on a bit of a “recognizance” drive this morning, further down our bush road to find out, where actually the damage is, that all the Ontario electricity company trucks, vans and personnel carriers, helicopters and 18-wheelers loaded with hydro electric poles are headed.(= “Hydro” for us Canadians is the word used for electricity)

What I discovered is a scene of utter devastation just barely 1 mile away from my home: A micro- burst had hit there and over a 14 km radius thousands of Trees were down = cut off at a height of about 6 feet, thrown asunder onto the small cottage community at leach Lake 2 km away from here, obliterated several cottages and literally buried the road and all other infrastructure, electric poles, telephone lines and electricity lines.

The work crews can not even get to the downed lines right now, because the road is impassable…..

I had known, that storm had caused nasty damage, but not, that it was THIS BAD.

I am soooooooo lucky!!!!

I SAW the thing roaring across our property,past my house, even took a few pictures and then saw the Trees whipping in circular motion in the fury of the mini-tornado!

I am sooooo lucky, nothing happened to me or our house!

After talking to the fore-man of the various work crews and some cottages, that saw their dream on the lake shattered to pieces I crawled home to m little problem and resolved to shut up and stop wailing about not having “hydro” for a few days…..

Then, tending to my rattling generator I drew my card of the day for this spread, stared in disbelief at the image – and started to cry.

Yes, I am in a pensive mood.

Yes, I am safe from the storm.

I am soooooo lucky!

Solstice reading day 6: Of Sticks and Strengths

6. Oak King – June 19:

A dedication to the Oak King, who is now near the height of his power in his battle with the Holly King.

This card shows us our strength. 

Well, DO YOU SEE ME?

Here I am!!

wielding a big stick at –

• well, at Ontario Hydro for not turning our electricity back on before Tuesday evening,
• at Xplorenet in New Brunswick, whom one has to phone to get an internet up-link repaired when it is busted by lightning and who have a 9 1/2 hour waiting line to take your call and then a 5 day wait until someone comes out here to fix it…..
• and at Peter, for being on “vacation” and currently visiting all kinds of friends and relatives and eating nice food, while I have to eat whatever came half thawed out of my freezers…..
• Grumble!!!!!

  Well, now to my other strengths – other than growling menacingly:

  Yes, I CAN deal with it all.

  It is a bit exhausting, but I manage. I always do. Stuff like quiet meditation will have to smoulder on the back-burner, but I have a lot of resilience to deal with all the little nasty stuff life throws at me/ us in our daily life.

  At times I have to reach a little deeper into my back pocket to find it and pull it out.

  For example, I have good people skills and with a few phone calls i managed to circumvent all the work order waiting lists and procedures at Xplorenet and have someone come up from Barrie right away. I knew someone who knows someone who knows someone who is / was a patient of mine and was glad to do me a little favour…..

  I got all my wildlife sorted: 2 Raccoon mothers, one not very healthy,, poor thing –  are getting medical care and their food and water on 2 DIFFERENT sides of the house, so that the growling and bite-fights stop. The Mother Bear, that comes around in late afternoon – 2 small cubs in toe, sadly gets none of the cat kibbles but I put some of the stuff from the freezer, that was “out over 24 hours” into the bush close to her day-bed for her, where only she can go and all the Coon- caboodle can not…..

  I am even up to snuff with my jewellery orders! 🙂

  when my strengths alone is not enough or I need the finesse of others, I know, when to call for help and I do.

  For right now, all my sticks are sorted and I can let my guard down a little…..

  Hey man! I am even learning something: How to use our new fancy cell phone for more than just calling people! 🙂

  I now can show off a brand spanking new app telling me about Ontario Hydro power outages and another one that has a tornado warning system.

  I just respectfully hope, that I will never need to use either of them…..