Judgement

   

a call to rise to a higher level of consciousness

There comes a time, perhaps one of many in your life, where you feel like you need to stand up for what is right.  It may be only a tiny change in lifestyle or a grand gesture of global significance. Anything that you feel you are compelled to do as you reach for a higher level of consciousness. It's not the same as feeling you are meant for greater things. It's knowing you have to speak or take action to create change. You aren't doing it for fame and fortune or a pat on the back but because you know it is morally right to do so. You don't have to change who you are and what you do (although many have sold everything they own and moved to a remote part of the world to fulfill their call) but how you think and how you do things. You become more aware of how choices and actions affect not only your life but that of others.  We must rise above political, religious and xenophobic attitudes and see the world as it pertains to all creatures that inhabit the globe. 

Judgement asks the question "Will you heed the call to make a difference in this world"  Some examples of how you might make a difference are volunteering to teach someone to read, donating time to an animal shelter, buying a homeless woman a sandwich, putting a dollar in the under privileged kids camp fund, having more meatless meals, shovelling your neighbours driveway, ...well, you get the idea. Is there something you have been thinking about doing that you feel might make a difference? Every little bit counts.

Ace of Pentacles

The promise of health, wealth and contentment.

The Ace of Pentacles is representative of the physical and those things we usually associate 

with that realm; health and strength, hard work and commerce, growth and abundance. 

Some of the ways we can manifest the Ace of Pentacles today could be to make plans to spend time with our family and friends with plenty of delicious homemade food. You could get out in the garden and get your hands dirty or plan your summer garden, if you live in a snowy region. You could get over to the gym or go for a long hike in the woods. The Ace of Pentacles is all about becoming stronger, healthier, richer and taking the first steps towards a more comfortable life.

What are some of the things you would like to have in your life as far as health, wealth and contentment go? Do you need a lot of money to have a rich and satisfying life? How important is it to you to be strong and healthy? 

The Star

A light to steer by in the darkest night.

 Sometimes it feels as though this card is sentient! I am not exaggerating when I say that time and time again, this card comes to the top of the deck when I am wondering if I should keep up with my tarot practice, reminding me what it is I want to do with what I know after all these years of studying tarot. I feel like I have a lot to share. It is fitting that my first post after a five year absence would be the Star. Its message is the reason why I call my tarot practice 'Star Tarot'! 

The Star signifies hope, healing and inspiration.  It urges our spirit to reach for our highest level of consciousness where the very best of humanity dwells. It reminds us that even in our darkest times, there is always something to lead us up and out of the murk. It is the promise that everything is going to be okay, you will somehow make it through and in the passing you will have a sense of wholeness and healing.  Sometimes the light is so tiny we fail to notice its quiet presence but then suddenly, it shines out so brightly we wonder why we didn't see it all along.  It's the lightness of being when someone says "I can help" and you suddenly don't feel quite so alone.  It's the calm you feel when the worst is over and you realize you survived and you are a better person for it. It's the inspiration to share that experience with others so they may have a light to guide them.  That's the really awesome thing about the Star. When you share the hope, love and healing it inspires, its light just gets brighter and brighter.

Is there something you feel hopeless about in your life? Can you find even the tiniest Star in this darkness? What has given you hope in the dark times of the past?

 How can you be Star for someone who is struggling? Do it.

The Lovers

All you need is love.

I confess that today I picked this card out of the deck on purpose. How could I not; it's Valentine's Day! The focus for today is about the importance of love in our lives. Not only romantic love but familial love, friendship, loving oneself, a passion in your life for something. Where there is love, life seems sparkle. You feel invincible and there's nothing you can't do. There's a fullness that envelopes everything in a fuzzy, warm blanket and nothing can take the smile from your face.  So why shouldn't we try to keep ourselves wrapped up in it at all times? I have been finding love everywhere lately because I have been  specifically looking for it. (No, I'm not propositioning people on the streets.) What I mean is that several times a day I've been asking myself, "What's to love here?"  I always find some little thing to love no matter what the situation. When I can find something to love in having to pay over $8000 (!) in taxes this year (we live in an amazing country with incredible programs for our well being; how lucky are we!? It makes it easier to give up that amount.) I see the love in my every day life all the better. I believe it has changed my life profoundly. And as for that song "Looking for love in all the wrong places", there's no wrong places to find love. It's everywhere!

Tell me about your love. Who do you love, what do you love, where do you love being? What are you doing today to express the love in your life? Where did you unexpectly find love today?

Ace of Wands

Today could be the beginning of a powerful, creative burst of energy. 

A good day to start that new project!

Caylum, aged three, when he was at a big show at the Saddledome, said "Can you feel the fun in the air?" If I were asked to express what the Ace of Wands is about in one perfect sentence, that would be it. The excitement, the buzz, the jazzed up creative energy that seems to come from the air itself. It infuses you with such enthusiasm you feel like you can do anything. Approach your boss with that new idea you have, ask for that raise, take those belly-dancing classes, get that new haircut, eat something exotic, ask that cute guy (gal) down the hall to join you for a coffee. You can't go wrong today (even if you do, you won't care much) so just go for it. What have you been wanting to try but just needed the courage to do? If you try something and it goes wrong, what's the worst that could happen? How will your life change if it goes right? How much fun will you have trying?

Nine of Swords

The energy wasted on worrying about a loved one could be put to better use.

Worrying about a loved one is one of those activities that seems futile and yet we spend huge amounts of time doing it. We love them and want them to be happy. So we worry to the point where our own happiness is in jeopardy. Our time and energy could be put to better use if we first asked ourselves a few simple questions. I usually don't have to go further than this first one. Is it really my problem? Unless you are directly involved (and you probably aren't because then you'd be worried about yourself) then the answer will most likely be no. Is this person an adult making choices for themselves? Often the choices people make are not the choices we ourselves would make. Who are we to presume that the path we would take is the right path for someone else? What if, by our intervention, this loved one is not experiencing something challenging that would ultimately make their lives richer and wiser? Finally, is there anything we can really do to change the situation? The only thing we can probably do is be there to support whatever decisions your loved one makes and try to sever your emotional state from their life. I'm not suggesting that these few questions will free you from worry but they will perhaps put things into better perspective. After all, don't you have enough to think about in your own life without having to manage someone else's? 

Is there someone you are worried about and why? How does your worry help the situation? How does it make it worse? Does this person know you worry about them and how do they feel about it?

Queen of Wands

                 Being confident will reveal the creative, charming, beautiful person you have inside.

      As I meditated about this card I realized that confidence (this week's theme apparently) is quite powerful and people with an abundant supply of it are usually the most successful people we know. They also seem to be talented and quite attractive as well. How can we mere mortals ever compete with that? So we stand as wallflowers on the outskirts of life wishing we were more like those charmed creatures and less like ourselves. And in that wishing is precisely where we miss out on probably the most powerful tool we have access to. Have you ever seen that show "What Not to Wear"? They take ordinary people with no style and teach them how to dress, give them a makeover and magically, they are transformed into confident, beautiful people full of energy and potential (Queen of Wands). Can makeup and better clothes be the secret magical formula to great success? Um, no... but feeling good about ourselves is. It shows how we sabotage ourselves by wishing we didn't have pear shaped bodies, large ears, big feet, bad skin, long arms, etc. when there's no changing the fact that we do. They teach people to embrace themselves and see the beauty they already possess. Once these ladies see how beautiful they really are on the outside, they open up to the beauty on the inside and that is the magical transformation that takes place. Accepting that we are truly beautiful no matter how we are shaped and that beauty comes from within. Makeup and clothes give us that kick start but the Queen of Wands energy that is in everyone is what takes the baton and runs with it.