Each week I pull Tarot cards to inspire practice that cultivates soul wisdom for readers of the blog as a group using the Gaian Tarot. (If you want to read more about the process, check out Sacred Practices of the Gaian Tarot: The 3 P’s).You are invited to use the cards below to inspire your practice, and, if you like, share your reflections in the comments. You are also free to draw your own cards and share them in the comments.
PATH: Use Pile 1 / Majors and Aces to pull a card for the question: What path would it best serve us to walk this week? THE STAR invites us to walk this week on pathways of …
- Hope
- Renewal – and in this post-Solstice time for us here in the Northern Hemisphere, connecting to the energy of the slowly returning but, yes, renewing light.
- Grounding yourself in the beautiful place on Earth where you live and from there reaching out to touch the light of the stars.
- Healing for us as individuals and for the planet as a whole.
PRACTICE: Use Pile 2 / numbered cards for this question: What practice(s) will best serve us to move along this path this week? FIVE OF EARTH invites us to practices such as …
- Doing nothing, just being in your body and connecting with how it feels.
- Dream incubation, in which you set an intention in a pre-sleep ritual, are open to dreams, and record the dreams that are received. Some resources for this are: Celtic teacher and writer Caitlin Matthews has a guided visualization for dream incubation. Robert Moss offers support for dream work in his books and on his site. If you are unclear about the meaning of a dream, you could pull a Gaian Tarot card to the question: What healing is this dream offering to me now?
- Making a list of the skills you have that help you through times of difficulty, then offer a prayer of thanks for having gained these skills (Keep the list handy and pull it out in times of challenge when you need to remind yourself.) This could be part of your 2014 year review as preparation for 2015 planning.
POSTURE: Use Pile 3 / People cards for a question such as: What attitudes and behaviors will be most helpful to undertake this practice and walk with path? GUARDIAN OF WATER invites you to follow your path and practices with attitudes of …
- Allowing healing to flow into your life
- Being in the flow of life; “no forcing, no holding back” (Rilke)
- Being open to your emotions and intuition
- Offering compassion to others and yourself.
OVERALL MUSINGS: At first, I thought this an odd set of cards. The lightness of The Star contrasting with the heavy dark of the Five of Earth. But then I realized that it is a reflection of this time of year here in the Northern Hemisphere. We have passed the Solstice; the light is returning but the nights are long and the cold weighs upon us. The season tests us, invites us to cultivate hope, to tend the returning light in our lives. We might take the stance of the Guardian who floats in dark waters but lifts her heart and hard-working shoulders to the light, pours her gifts symbolized by the clear water streaming from her shell into what needs the illumination of her gifts, needs her particular form of healing.
The seasonal world around me inspires these reflections, but they could be applied to the internal state of anyone in the world emerging from personal difficulty into the light of healing barely yet perceived or the planet as a whole this year so plagued by war, conflict, and climate upheaval. But there is within each one of us a gift to bring that invites the light, invites healing, invites change. As we turn into the new year and the possibility of beginning again is offered, you can tune into that gift, imagine how to grow it, and the Whole shall be made better by it.
Peace in the New Year to you and to all!
[Note: Tending the Returning Light is the theme of January’s tele-circles that start next Monday, the 5th. I do have some slots open so feel free to check out the details and ask me any questions.]