Spring New Moon Super Moon Eclipse! Card of the week, 16th March, 2015

When I drew this card for the week, I actually laughed at how totally spot on it was.  From the moon to the delicate little violets in the picture.

Somehow through the seemingly unending blankets of white (and then brown and soot black) snow, things have growing, unnoticed.  Last week everyone was still  in ugly coats, shoveling driveways and scraping wind-shields and toddling over dead, tan lawns, but this week the sun has suddenly burst on the scene and  today I spied crocuses poking their noses up, daffodils in sunny yellow dresses,  tender little white and purple violets and periwinkle on the vine.   Kids in shorts?    How did it all happen so fast?

There’s a lot of stuff happening (and fast!) this week,  so it makes sense.  Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day and on Friday March 20th,  we’ll have three very interesting astronomical events  happening at once, which is very rare!  First, spring is springing with the vernal equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere) and  the beginning of the astrological new year starting with Aries.  It also happens to be a total solar eclipse (another total solar eclipse will not happen with a vernal equinox until 2053, and in the 2100s – not at all).    As if that isn’t enough, it will also be a super-moon when the moon is at its closest point possible pass to Earth,  pulling on our tides.  It’s also a new moon  because in order for an eclipse to happen there must be a new or full moon (the earth and moon lined up directly with the sun).

So much great symbolism in these events:  spring represents new birth and new beginnings, and the new astrological year ushers in a new cycle, while the new moon (super moon this time!) is pulling on our emotional and intuitive bodies in the traditional symbolic association of release.  The solar eclipse, super-new-moon equinox also  happens in the 29th degree of Pisces which is said to be astrologically significant. As I mentioned the other day, some astrologers correlate this degree with powerful events of change or misfortune, but it serves us best to not worry but  take in the energy  (or symbolism) as a whole.   This is a week for concrete movement towards new starts, but also concrete revelations about what needs to move out of our lives.

Just as spring quickly moves into view,  we have more energy, and insistence pushing issues of  letting go, and lucidity; the tearing of illusion.  But it won’t necessarily be a painful time for everyone and some will experience  excited nudges towards tapping into creativity and connection to their heart and soul.   Some will even be feeling really positive even in times of change.  For most, change  won’t be in the form of an anvil dropping on us, but rather true clarity and conviction about what we felt back towards the middle of February, those points of awareness about what is no longer able to be part of our lives as well as the willingness to to step out of what we used to know and into new territory.

Another significant theme this week will be around relationships.  The ending of the relationship may have happened a long time ago, or perhaps it was simply a matter of someone unable to join us on this fork of our journey and we’re finally “getting it” or starting to deal with this on a deep level.    For others, this is about the release of our perceptions or illusions that are keeping us from joining a new life fully. We see what we need to see again.  Because emotions are more vivid and a lot is going on this week, keep all relationships and friendships within reach of compassion and patience.  It’s a week for extra kindness.

The new moon is a time for the positive attributes of shadows and revealing the unseen.  Instead of scary, this is a good thing.  Think of how scientists and astronomers will be descending en masse to places like Svalbard Norway to view this rare eclipse. Because the moon will block the rays of the sun from view,  the total eclipse will be a unique time for solar scientists to  study the sun’s corona and allow new discoveries to be made in a time when the blinding brilliance of our star is subdued.  Shadows, dreams, things unseen, emotions unexamined… these things can be really powerful and helpful!

Unfortunately,  most people won’t get to see the total black-out eclipse unless you’re fishing in the North Atlantic or hanging out in Norway. In parts of the UK and Scotland, as well as parts of Europe the eclipse will still be partly visible. Be careful though, never watch an eclipse directly! – Use a pin hole projector or colander.

And don’t forget to wear your lucky green (like the luna moths in the card!) for abundance and St. Paddy’s Day if that’s your thing!

About this deck: About this deck:    The  Victorian Fairy Tarot  by Lunaea Weatherstone and Gary Lippincott, published by Llewellyn,  is one of the most beautifully painted and illustrated tarot decks ever created.  Even if you’re not into “fairies” – this one is worth it just for the artwork

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Romance; Card of the Week 2 February, 2015

Look at the happy picture. The moving water and waves (symbolising emotions) glimmering in the sun.  Indeed, this is a month where our emotional lives are lighting up in new and unexpected ways. Even our collective unconscious is strummed towards feelings lately (one only had to tune in to the Super Bowl commercials last night, typically a bastion of beer and babes, to see emotional commercials about aging parents, and heart-tugging adverts about puppies and children.  (Did I just see a campaign by McDonald’s to “pay with love?”)        What should we do with all these feelings running rampant?  Something good I hope!    This week’s cards (there was a jumper) hint towards romance.

Some of you will be overjoyed to see this picture. Some of you might get nervous, but before you look at this picture, see the couple, groan and think, “oh no!”    Read on! – This could be a week of a lot of romantic awakenings and emotional awakenings.  Romance, in this case, is anything that makes your emotions come alive, dance and take notice of the world around you. Romance could be a connection to a partner, but it can also represent the romance with romantic feelings and excitement, a romance with your own heart, or a romance with whatever you’re truly passionate about.

Romance is about the alive heart, beating with possibilities, excitement and wonder. This is the heart that gets invested in things, which fears neither defeat nor isolation. This is the lion heart of love and passion.  If you’re in a relationship, this is an amazing week to explore the terrain of your romantic heart.  Whether or not these are the days of wine and roses, let your heart be tickled by emotions and fondness. Your partner might be sending shivers up your spine, or you may be affirming to them, “YES! This is awesome! I care about you and I want to continue this adventure!”     If you’re single or dating, this is simply about waking your heart back up and feeling more foot-loose.  Feeling the surge of “yes!!  this is possible!” again.

In terms of work, projects and practical things, romance flashes here too! This is a week to let your feelings come alive again, to feel the full rainbow of emotions, and to feel passionate about your life.  No partner brings this to you, after all.  And to have romance on the OUTSIDE you must have romance on the inside too!    For many, this is going to be passion for our purpose.  Being “in love” with work again, feeling special about things that make our heart sing.   (this is great for those who have felt a little “lost” in terms of greater purpose lately).     You may find yourself falling in love with what you’re meant to do to a greater degree or you might discover something in your hobby or artistic passion (OH MY GOSH THAT’s the GREATEST GUITAR PICK EVER!)  that really tickles your fancy.   There’s a lucky answer to a problem…

 

The  second, “popper” card (Holding On) is a great companion to Romance.  Wherever we find romance and passion blooming, whether that’s within our selves, for another person, for our job, for life…. we can bet that “holding on” can squash those feelings of excitement and peace.  Here’s the thing, though – holding-on isn’t unusual.  If you think about it, it’s only an expression of that fear we all have about the unknowns of the future, or where life might guide us outside our expectations.   Holding on is just that feeling of “No, I’m scared. I don’t know what the future might bring, I don’t want to change!”      This card is a gentle reminder to us to examine if there’s someone (or something) we’re hanging on to so much that passionate and romance cannot bloom in new places. The figure in the pictures has already packed their bags and wants to roll down the road, while another hangs on to their trouser-cuff for dear life.      This card cautions us that no matter how much we might want to hold on to a situation we would like to change, letting go is our only chance to transcend that pattern and keep from being abandoned victims.   Think Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day (one of my absolute favourite movies ever, consider this your homework if you’ve never seen it!)

Letting go of whatever we’re desperately clinging on to (good or bad, whether it’s a PERSON, THOUGHT HABIT, or THING)  is an immediate way to point our emotional selves towards more romance, more passion, more fiery, “YES!” vibes  whether towards a new person, dating, enjoying life, feeling EMOTIONS again, or just liking work and projects a little more.  We can explore a new sunny day, instead of the same winter-scape over and over.

We’re not going to be desperate or humiliated this week. Nope! This week it will be just a little easier to let go of that metaphorical trouser leg. Stand up, brush ourselves off, see new possibilities. Feel the tingly surge of new emotional tides. Walk along the sand with someone special.   Think about all the wonderful gifts of emotion, passion and care that you have to give to others around you. Let them flow and flow.. just like the ocean in the picture.

Have a romantic and fun week, everybody and happy Groundhog Day!

 

About this deck:  The Love Pack, by psychologist Chuck Spezzano is an 84 card deck and book set published by C&B.  Cute, modern illustrations, outline simple but powerful concepts of relating.

Tale of Fox and Moon; Card of the Week 5th January 2015

Never fear,  in spite of the title of this card, our Foxy friend is not here to say we’re necessarily  going to feel bad or be rejected this week.   Instead,  she speaks about the obvious or hidden feelings and thoughts that accompany letting go and jumping into a new positive phase.  (The good kind of letting go, that we need or even want!)    The call to let go, relax and open up often wears the disguise of fear of rejection.    For example:  being rejected is often a fear that accompanies the act of letting go and letting someone in.  Fights can surround a misplaced sense of “rejection”  when in reality another person is simply trying to express themselves.   We can even feel rejected when someone around us is not taking responsibility for their lives,  something that has nothing to do with us.

Sometimes emotions are like a fox in the woods… elusive, difficult to track, difficult to understand or pin down. We might not know what they mean in the moment we’re having them. or they might just present themselves silently when everything seems fine.  Sometimes we wonder if we can trust ourselves. Doubts dart in and out of our mental landscape like the fox. This is the perfect week to think about our feelings, stories and beliefs about “rejection”  — are these stories keeping our power to choose and make decisions hidden?  Are these beliefs hiding an awesome way to progress forward?

What are you afraid of?  Here’s the thing – rejection isn’t something you need to fear.  Most of the time it’s an idea in our heads, a fear in our hearts, not something real.  Sometimes rejection is just an act when we don’t know how to talk about what is REALLY in our hearts. And in those rare times that something doesn’t pan out or work out (we get a denial letter from a publisher or a Dear Jane) – it’s still not rejection! It’s simply that whatever it was wasn’t in the right groove with where we’re headed right now.  (A protection, not a rejection)

Maybe if we worried about rejection a little less this week we could make better decisions and not cloud our judgement with thoughts about how to keep another person (or thing) from hurting us when we could be seeing the truth or making intelligent decisions instead.  We’d be our wonderful, shiny, foxy selves more often.  We’d rush into things (or out of things) a little less blindly because we’re not just trying to escape rejection.

The second card that popped out alongside our fox, is the moon. – The author says, “The moon calls you to creative reflection. Her mysteries will be revealed in due course, and when you least expect them. If you feel stranded and bewildered, energize your goals and aspirations with positive thoughts. Listen to your inner voice, dreams and intuition. They have amazing power to alter your future. The Moon is about the joyful celebration of your success.”

Imagine our little fox darting in and out of the trees in a deep woods. The moon hangs in the winter sky, the snow crunches beneath her little paws. She’s on the case,  she’s going somewhere amazing and astoundingly beautiful.  She knows where she’s going – it might not always be obvious but she’s being guided with her creativity and heart more than any doubts or fears and so are you!  We all have fears, illusions, and dreams hiding the clear path, but this week those dreams can be harnessed for powers of good!

 

Have a wonderful week and happy 2015!

 

About this deck:  This week’s card is from the beautifully painted Chrysalis Tarot illustrated by Holly Sierra and written by Toney Brooks. Published by US Games (and available by Fools Dog on Android and Apple).  I was attracted to this deck based on the really unique and whimsical representation of traditional tarot themes and the magnificent artwork.