Something for the weekend 31/07/15

Good afternoon Moonbeams

How are you all? how has your week been? I have spent the week immersed in learning. Monday I went to the fabulous circle that is held in Morley, Leeds and as always, came away fired up and for the rest of the week I have spent as much spare time as I can find with my cards.

My cards told me about The Hierophant and The Magician for this week, both teachers and so I have been learning. My lesson came last night and I am still reeling from it.

This is not a new lesson but an old one that has surfaced many many times before. I thought I had finally cracked it, but obviously not. I know it is my own fault, I have dropped the ball. I need to get a plan of action together and get it sorted once and for all. This is not going to be quick and I imagine it will be with me for the rest of this year at least but hopefully I can get it together before 2016 starts.

Usually my first response to this kind of situation is panic and then entrenching myself deeply so that I can't move. I am hoping to handle it differently this time and with this in mind I have asked upstairs where I need to start looking in order to help me through.

I have been given Joy, The Wheel of Fortune and the 6 of Wands.

Theme: Joy

This is a bit hard as my usual reaction is not joyful or joyous but rather panic, darkness and misery. Obviously I am being told that my usual approach is wrong. This would be evident by the fact that this lesson has resurfaced, so my old ways of dealing with it need turning on their head. But what am I being joyous about? That I have this opportunity? It is a life lesson for sure and affords me means to grow and develop and to get a grip. Bearing Joy in mind, instead of my initial instinct of taking to my bed and hiding under my duvet and limiting all contact; I will go to our local agricultural show tomorrow and enjoy the blessings of the outside and the community and the fun it brings.






Dominant Energy: The Wheel of Fortune

Yes indeed, the wheel has turned and I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. I definitely resonate with the words "round and round and round she goes, and where she stops? nobody knows" The Wheel of Fortune turns and spins and reminds us that we do not have it together. We may feel we have some control over our destiny, but we don't. The plus side, is that it will turn again sooner or later and I am only in this ditch for a while, it is not permanent. The Wheel of Fortune in the WU looks to me like a dream catcher with beautiful coloured ribbons as the net. The Dream Catcher catches all my positive thoughts, dreams and actions and lets all my negative aspects through to disappear into the universe. The Owl uses her wisdom and clear vision to guide me through this dark time, the moon and stars shine down to help me find my path and the sun is rising for when the wheel turns again.

Action: 6 of Wands

I will endure. I will conquer this twist of fate that has temporarily knocked me. I will emerge from this testing time in triumph! ok, maybe not at the head of a parade but the feeling will be the same.
Like the butterfly,  I will transform and rise up away from the thorns and confusion that currently hold me tight. I will be the Butterfly.

Well, I have had an old lesson presented to me to see if I can learn it properly this time. I have been advised to go about it in a new and different way as my old "re-active" way doesn't work. By approaching it from a different angle, I will have the chance to transform, develop, grow and rise above it. Joy might be pushing it a bit too far but I am certainly more heartened and cheered by these cards.

Wishing you all a joyful weekend BB x

Images used by kind permission of Collette Baron-Reid, The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards and www.thewildunknown.com

Theme of the Week 27/07/15 - Two Teachers

Good afternoon Moonbeams,

How are you all? I am great. I am really inspired and energetic and tingly on the inside and I am hoping that being at work doesn't erode me back to my usual state of "meh".

On the plus side, another weekend of absolutely no housework happened, but I must admit, it is starting to bother me now. I have one evening free this week and one day over the weekend in which to actually make a bit of effort to start on cleaning up.

Last weeks reading for the week talked about taking risk. There would be the opportunity (should I want it) for learning from challenges and for poking a toe out of my comfort zone to see how I would get on. Obviously nothing terrible happened and I am all charged up and ready to extend an extremity out up to an ankle or possibly even a knee...

The last week, in itself was relatively action free, I was busy with my usual commitments and work and nothing really out of the ordinary happened and then on Friday, I went down to Birmingham for  the weekend to meet up with some Tarot folks. Travelling on my own doesn't bother me, finding places and being on my own doesn't bother me but the thought of meeting up with people whose level of Tarot is so above mine did frighten me a little. I kept telling myself to just be cool, don't get into any conversations where your knowledge or understanding will embarrass myself. Try not to be gauche, don't get animated and start waving your arms around like you are bringing in aeroplanes and try to at least remember the name of every Major Arcana card!

Everyone was so nice, I had a great time and chatted to so many people and I learnt stuff. I am no longer resistant to Marseilles types decks and looking forward to developing there. I was definitely challenged to do something out of the ordinary, out of my comfort zone and now I feel invincible.

So, given that I am raring to go, what is this week bringing? Only The Hierophant and The Magician!

Dominant Energy: The Hierophant
Well this is apt. The Hierophant talks to us of group learning, structure and tradition. Tick.
We are reminded that we have to be active in our learning, rather like going on a quest. We have to put the hours in and learn about ourselves, we have to be challenged and to grow.

Action: The Magician
We have the tools, get on with it. This is not a card of the ditherer, The Magician doesn't hang about being unsure or angsty. The Magician reminds us to set our intention and then go get it. We are the conduit that connects Heaven and Earth and if we can dream it, we can manifest it. We need to remember our faith here and trust that if we so desire it, we can make it happen.

We are in the realm of the physical here and we must remember that we can do it. We do not need to get lost in big, theoretical questions and scenarios; our lessons are for the here and now. We have the teachers, the tools and the enthusiasm, we can't fail.

Wishing you all a fruitful week BB x

 

 

Images used by kind permission www.fountaintarot.com

 



Theme of the week 20/07/15: Courts all the way

Good afternoon Moonbeams

How are you all? I hope you are all well and happy. I was out all day Saturday mooching around ruins again and having a fabulous time. Sunday was spent at home, avoiding chores but I seemed to be very busy so all in all another good weekend.

We are coming up to our financial year end at work so it's getting busier here as I am trying to pull everything together but I am still a million miles away from the stress I was suffering at my last job. I met an acquaintance who saw me regularly when I was stressed a couple of weeks ago and she told me that I was positively blooming compared to what I was. That was a lovely thing to hear, thank you so much Sarah.

What is the following week bringing? Well last night I pulled an oracle card as an overall theme of the week and I got Risk, this is a new card for me and I am very excited.
I have just shuffled now and got the Daughter of Swords and the Father of Wands. I am not sure I am looking forward to seeing how this week is going to evolve. But I am curious...


Theme: Risk
Risk sounds frightening but it doesn't have to be. You have the choice between taking it or sitting it out. Maybe we are being asked to step out of our comfort zone here. When was the last time we took a risk? I used to take them more regularly with changing jobs, walking away from situations (taking myself of medications...), jumping in my car and driving somewhere I didn't know at the other end of the country. I never actually considered them as taking risks either at the time or looking back on them. They usually fell in the large category of "it seemed like a good idea at the time" sometimes they worked, sometimes not.
Whilst you do not have to take every risk or opportunity presented to you. Trust your intuition, if it feels wrong then of course, don't do it, but, I feel this card at this time is a call to action. What are we willing to risk? Are we willing to speculate to accumulate? I think I am.



Dominant Energy: Daughter of Swords
Well, following on from Risk we have an opportunity to learn. This beautiful daughter heralds a challenging time whereby we are being given the chance to grow and develop. The Owl of wisdom and knowledge stands on the sharp and piercing sword of justice, honesty and integrity. As much as we need these opportunities and appreciate the merit of them, it is hard to get excited or joyful about them but, the bright colourful stars are our reminder of the benefits of our challenges.

Action: Father of Wands
Is this Father Risk by another name? We are asked to step up and find out what we can do. Again we can sit back if we want to, but do we? This Father is fire and passion and confidence "he who dares, wins". Can we lead and inspire others? it would be nice. If we can channel this Father, then who knows what we can achieve. The Cobra is proud and fearless but not reckless and the lightening bolt earths the power of the universe in us, lending us power, creativity, spark and passion.


Well Moonbeams, we have a powerful week coming up. It will be challenging, but if we rise up to the challenge, the rewards will be great.

See you on the other side BB x

Images used by kind permission www.thewildunknown.com and The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid
                                                                                                                                                                                            

Something for the weekend 17/07/15 and another Cup!

Good afternoon Moonbeams

How are you all? I hope you have had a good week so far.  I have been fine and on Wednesday I read an article that struck a chord within and it has been with me ever since. I used it to form the basis of my intention at the New Moon on Thursday and I am trying to keep it in mind to help me focus. I have post-it's stuck to things with the key word on them to help me.

I am hoping that we will be out at least one day this weekend but I am also aware of the huge pile of chores building up... To be honest though, I can ignore them, it's rare we have good weather at the weekends and I would rather be taking advantage and being outside exploring somewhere new.

I have asked upstairs what the weekend will be bringing and we have the Six of Pentacles and the Queen of Cups. Sounds alright to me.

Dominant Energy: Six of Pentacles
I like this card. I like all the cards that encourage the flow of energy and this six encourages sharing. If you have, share with the have not's. If you are a have not, do not be proud to accept an offer of help. The flow of energy needs feeding and clear channels and refusing to share or accept help causes blockages. If you are in need, accept the help with a gracious heart and the understanding that when you are in a position to help and share yourself, you do. You do your bit to keep the energy swirling and flowing and growing.

Action: Queen of Cups
Oh this is encouraging indeed.
This Queen asks us to work from the heart. Once we look at the world though a lens of love we stop re-acting so much and are more likely to act appropriately. We are asked to channel our intuition and to look deeper to the source, the still centre around which all else swirls. What do we know? How can we live our truth?

We have the opportunity to encourage clear channels of energy, to share with others and to love ourselves and others with an open heart and clear understanding.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

BB X

 

 

Images used by kind permission www.prismavisions.com



Theme of the Week 13/07/15 - A couple of 3's

Good morning Moonbeams,

How are you all?

I am not too chuffed to be back in work as it was a glorious weekend and I have been playing out all the time and didn't want it to end. I haven't done any housework and just kept up with the washing-up up to last nights tea, then it went a bit pear shaped and I have a lovely pile waiting for me when I get home.

On Saturday we went up to the Thirsk area of North Yorkshire and in the morning we walked around the White Horse and Sutton Bank, sat in a beautiful meadow and had a picnic lunch and then in the afternoon we drove a little further on to Byland Abbey, built in the 12th Century. Like most early monasteries it was killed during the dissolution but there are some fabulous ruins left now and we spent all afternoon mooching about.  During excavations, the most amazing tiled floors were unearthed dating from the 13th Century, Seriously, I would have those floors.  There is a lovely tea room over the road too.

On Sunday, we headed south and spent the day at Brodsworth Hall in Doncaster. This is a country house built in the 1800's and lived in right up to 1988.  It has beautiful gardens and it was another fabulous day to be outside.

But, the work week is here and I have to get on with it and so I have shuffled and asked upstairs what I need to be thinking about this week and I have the Three of Pentacles and the Three of Swords (Swords are back...)

Dominant Energy: The Three of Pentacles
This is not a time to be hasty or slap dash. This is a time to make plans, research and really think it through. This is also the time to ask for help, use others knowledge and experience. Do not go it alone here. You have the tools at your disposal, make use of all the available resources in whatever guise they appear and you should have a blooming good, workable plan to help get the desired results.

Action: The Three of Swords
This is the time to pay attention. Is everything in the garden rosy or are we ignoring something in the hope it will go away and in our hearts, we know it won't? This is one of the cards that throw a curve ball at us. It is a warning to look about ourselves and see if there is a situation festering away that we need to acknowledge or if not, if we genuinely feel everything is OK, it is a heads up that we are about to get a surprise that will knock us for six.

The positive 3's are represented by the Three of Pentacles with Self -Expression, insights and imagination used to create a sound and practical plan.

The negative 3's are represented by the Three of Swords with scattered energies and some self-centred-ness.

We have the tools and wherewithal to make something good here, something worthwhile. Pay attention to others, are we including them or treating them like they do not matter? Don't sweep things under the carpet or ignore them in favour of our own plans.

Wishing you all a productive and prosperous week

BB x

 

Images used by kind permission of www.linestridertarot.com

 

An Adventure - Deck Trimming (The End)

Good evening Moonbeams,

Well I have finished this project and I am SMITTEN! I am so happy with how they have turned out.
They are still a little large but definitely easier to work with and without the white border, the images on the cards seem more immediate.

If I was to do this kind of a task again (looking at you Druid Animal Oracle...) I would not be frightened to crack on.

What I have learnt: you need a guillotine. A proper sturdy desk one would be ideal. My Druid Craft still has a few slightly wobbly borders and a guillotine would make the task less intense and less wobbly... The antiquated wind up guillotine where I work now would be a nightmare but other offices I have worked in have very suitable ones. I wonder if Staples do small versions? I shall look into that.

Corner rounders/punches. What an amazing idea and so brilliant for what they do. I am so chuffed to be the owner of one now, it makes me feel less crafty challenged and more "got it together". It has made such a difference to the appearance of my deck and I am grateful to Claudia and Rose who both took the time to point me in the right direction.

When I finished the trimming and rounding, I sat and shuffled for a while and asked the deck how we were going to get on and it gave me the 3 of Cups. I believe we are going to get on very well indeed.

BB x

Something for the weekend 10/07/15 - Cups all the way

Good afternoon Moonbeams,

How are you all? I hope you have all had a good week. I need to do some grounding as I haven't felt that present these past few days and I have been positively light headed today. I think some smoky quartz, obsidian and some outside time should help.

I am waiting on a new piece of kit in order to finish my deck trimming and I am so looking forward to finishing it and being able to use them.

Regular readers will notice that there has been a very noticeable lack of cups in my draws, but to make amends I have two in one today. This is very exciting indeed.

Dominant Energy: 6 of Chalices

This beautiful card talks to us of simple pleasures and going back to basics. Strip away all the layers of baggage and bumf that has accumulated. It is bogging us down and holding us back.

This 6 shows a woman bathing in a natural body of water surrounded by Lillie's and plants and the sun is shining on her. There are no worries here, just bobbing along getting all clean and shiny again.

Do we need to dip more than our toes into our spiritual waters? is it time to immerse ourselves in our spirituality and emerge all dripping ready to be counted?

We need to keep it simple and just dive in.

Action: Ace of Chalices

Oh my oh my oh my. Ne'er a cup and then an Ace to kick start it all!

This Ace talks to us of a rocket going off and we are going to be caught up in an emotional energy surge. We need to open ourselves up to possibilities and we need to look at all around us with an open heart and with lots of love and kindness and compassion.

We have to look at ourselves and see what we are carrying that we do not need. We need to keep it simple and see where we want to be spiritually. An infectious energy of love will drive us on and help us make the right choices for ourselves.

Wishing you all a weekend filled with love and good stuff

BB x

 

 

Images used by kind permission www.prismavisionstarot.com

 

An adventure - Deck Trimming. (Part 2)

Good afternoon Moonbeams,

Well what a miserable few days we are having! My plants are going from scorched to drowned and they are not looking happy at all. I am out of sorts too and not feeling comfortable in myself.

On Monday evenings I sit in a fabulous open circle in Morley, Leeds and 15 minutes before I was due to set off I somehow managed to fling my big mug of scalding hot soup all over myself and scalded my tum and legs...  I was wearing the only clean pair of jeans I had so I had to cancel and stop in. When you have questions and are wanting answers, being forced to miss a circle is incredibly frustrating. This is just a physical example of how out of sorts I am at the moment.

I have taken solace in starting to trim my DruidCraft Tarot deck. It was terrifying! It took me days to pluck up the courage to make a start. Honestly I have put less thought into getting a tattoo (that might say something about me...)

First of all, I checked that all the cards were present and correct. They were, but I checked again.
then I messed around with measuring the fronts and the backs to see where I would cut. Very un-necessary. Eventually I made a start and it was quite scary. I was holding the card face up and cut along the outside edge of the inner border. I was so uncomfortable that for the 2nd card I turned it around so that I couldn't see the card and followed the border on the back. This was even worse.

On the whole I am chuffed, the cards look great (a little rustic but that is charming) and they are a much more manageable size for my butter fingers.

I need to find my small scissors as I need to straighten up some of the more wobbly edges, but maybe not all of them. I imagine it would be very easy to eat into the border.

 

Then I need to work out how I am going to round the edges. Really, how am I going to round the edges off?  This definitely requires tea and the best biscuits money can buy to help me through.

 

BB x

Theme of the Week 06/07/15: 7 of Pentacles and Death

Hello there Moonbeams,

How are you all? I am a little tired as I haven't slept so well these past couple of nights. This has been mainly due to the thunder and lightning storms and then the sudden the drop in temperature last night. I should sleep well, I have been out all weekend doing chores and playing out, yesterday in particular we took advantage of visiting nieces for a long play out in the morning followed by a late and long family lunch in a local carvery. I do love a choice of umpteen veggies!

I have things on my mind and I asked upstairs what I need to be thinking about and we have The 7 of Pentacles and Death. These seem to go well together dontcha think?

Dominant Energy: 7 of Pentacles

This 7 talks to us of rewards and reflection. We have gone so far on our path and we have reached a place of comfort and reward. We have sown and now we can reap and enjoy. Life is good. Now comes the questions; Are we content? is this it? Now is the time to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go. Why do we want to go? Surely we are in a good place so why would we consider moving?
Life is not static. It is not a straight line either, it loops and curls and circles and twists and turns and knots and unravels. We may think that yes I am happy here but I wish I had taken that opportunity when it presented itself. It may re-appear and you can have a shot at it, or it may have been a once a lifetime opportunity. Other opportunities may now start appearing We may decide we want to get of the ride we call life for a while and stay here, but 'here' my not last either and we are forced to move on. Like so many things, it is always easier if we decide to move or change rather than have it forced upon us. This 7 is that card, it is a small time out in  which we have the time to look about us clearly and freely so that we can choose for ourselves where we want to go next or how we want to develop and improve ourselves via our experiences or knowledge. This is a cup of tea and biscuit, feet up and plan for the next phase kind of card.

Action: Death
Well change is on it's way and not much we can do about it, or is there? Life is all about the circles and cycles out with the old and in with the new. If we are not too attached then we can appreciate what we had but also appreciate when it has had its time and when we have to move on. If we do get too attached then it is harder or traumatic when we have to let it go.

The 7 of  Pentacles is giving us notice to consider our next stage of our journey and Death is reminding us that staying still is not an option and helping us to focus on our future. Change is inevitable.

BB x

 

Images used by kind permission of www.wildunknown.com

 

An adventure - Deck Trimming. (Part 1)

Good afternoon Moonbeams,

Well I took a day off today, and picked the only cloudy and rainy day of the heat wave, I'm blessed that way. I had a week off about 2 months ago and it rained for the whole week then too...

On a brighter note, my new copy of The DruidCraft Tarot arrived via Mr Posty this morning. This is always exciting but this is a frightened kind of excited.

I have had my copy of The DruidCraft for many years and I think I paid £20-£25 for it, I can't remember which but I love this deck so it is worth it. Unfortunately it is a huge deck and for me, it is a bit unwieldy and hard to shuffle.

It must have been a year ago that I first came across deck trimming and I was interested but didn't really think that much about it. Then it came up again, and I thought the deck used looked fab for being trimmed but again, didn't think any more about it. This year it has came up again twice and the deck used both times was The DruidCraft, I was fascinated and hooked. As I love my deck I didn't want to risk ruining it but I wasn't going to go out and buy a new deck just to cut down. I may be a bit reckless with money but I couldn't justify that.

Then, because the universe likes a chuckle as much as the next guy, I got a message out of the blue from someone I don't know saying that they had seen my wish for a DruidCraft to trim, they had a brand new one still in its cellophane and if I was interested it was mine for a fiver! £5.00! That is right folks just five pound coins of the realm. Once I picked myself up off the ground, I said yes please and thank you very much.

Now it is all very well, reading about trimming from people who appear to be crafty showing their neatly trimmed and fabulous looking cards and me doing it. Hence the universe wanting to chuckle at my clumsy and hamfistedness expense. I have happily gone through life with the belief that myself and my life are Persian Carpets, we have flaws as only Allah is perfect (obviously substitute Allah for whatever deity/diving concept works for you). I have been happy with wonky eyeliner, my cooking is along the lines of "it will be fine" and my knitting has small holes in it where I have messed up the M1 stitch and I am happy with this, I like the rustic charm of my life. But I don't want to mess this deck up.

So I have decided to take my time with this and also, as I will be spending time with each card, I have decided to consolidate all my tarot notes that are spread out over books and diary's and scraps of paper into one journal and create my own LWB along the way. Really 2 projects in 1.

Here is the pristine, brand new subject of my project in all its original glory:

 

 

I am looking forward to starting but also very nervous. I will really have to concentrate so my prayer to The Goddess is please grant me patience and a very steady hand.

 

Let the adventure begin!

 

BB x

Runes: Gebo - Gift

Good afternoon Moonbeams,

How are you all? I have had a low level migraine for the past few days which hasn't been fun. I also had an eye test and all the flashing lights and different lenses didn't really help. My eyesight has deteriorated a bit so new specs. When I had my eyes tested last, about 3 years ago my eyesight had only worsened a little bit and it wasn't worth new lenses so I have been wearing the same glasses for over 5 years, an upgrade in facial wear was in order anyway.

I have felt the need for something physical to play with so I picked up a rune to use as a worry bead this morning and I got Gebo. I like Gebo. I like the responsibility it promotes.

Gebo talks to us of gifts. That is basically it, gifts. But, the whole etiquette and social obligations are wide reaching.

Gebo talks to us of the giving and receiving of gifts in a respectful manner. I think most of us like giving gifts, but we are not always so good at receiving them. This can become uncomfortable for the gift giver. In the Northern traditions, gifts were a serious business that cemented bonds of family, friendship and the clan. It was also serious enough to take your life in certain circumstances, this was usually the bond created when your King gave you a ring giving you protection and rights etc but in return you offered your life if soldiers were needed for war.

Outcasts could be re-rehabilitated and incorporated back into the clan through this marvellous method. A gift was given, whereby the outcast could then work or become a useful member of the clan by whatever means and talents he had and then he would repay the gift thereby sealing the bond.

The act of giving and receiving gifts is an acknowledgement of your responsibility to helping yourself and others. If you are in a position to help another, then do so. If and when they are in a position to repay you, allow them to, do not deny an other the pleasure of being able to say thank you.

Spiritual gifts need to be acknowledged too. We cannot repay them in the same way but we can acknowledge the gift and give thanks through heartfelt prayers, offerings or some practical means through charity or similar.

Give thanks for the gifts you have received and check your conscience, have you repaid as you ought?

Enjoy your gifts, from wherever they have come from for they will have been given with love.

BB x