Ceremonies and rituals, are symbolic acts that honour important moments and take us out of the inner-personal-individual focus that can be a breeding ground for narcissism or loneliness, and into a deep knowing, that you are a part of something Greater, including part of a community. Sounds so good, right?
Read MoreI’m drawn to the regalia adorned by the Emperor, and ceremony implied in the image - and am curious how these symbols within the archetype have potential for transforming self doubt.
Read MoreIt can be hard to catch that moment when action that feels energising, slips into forcing. Because there’s a lot of healthy pleasure and beneficial ego development to be gained from achieving something ...
It’s when pleasure and desire turns addictive, the scales tip out of whack. A “more-is-more ideal” falsely reasons that because yang feels good, then more yang can feel even better!
Read MoreI can almost hear the kerfuffle too… can you? Listen … The clack-clack of wands bumping into each other, voices rising and falling and talking over each other, the shuffle-shuffle of feet, the huff-puff breath … argy-bargy.
No one is meaning harm - but no-one is meaning well either … no-one is listening, everyone on their own agenda, not much progress. It seems like pointlesss squabbling.
Read MoreMy sense is underlying any fear-frustration of doing something new, is shame. No one wants to look like an idiot and be subject to ridicule. Shame stops us short, shuts us up, and shuts us down. But, behind anyone who’s ever taken a risk, and tried something new, is either the willingness to look silly, or not caring that much if they come off looking awkward.
Read MoreOften times of difficulty, and personal or collective crisis requires a silencing of all the voices and distractions that can dull clear thought and sharp instincts. But rather than escape, a middle way could be temporary retreat.
Read MoreIt’s interesting that the most prominent and intriguing aspect in this moons card - the hand holding the cup, emerging from the cloud - is what seems least interesting to the main human character.
Read MoreIn this way, the purpose of being focussed, organised and attending to details is to produce a rich harvest. Something of substance, that serves to nourish and support you and others in the long run. The notion of harvest also encourages a stopping of work, proper rest in ritual celebration of what’s been achieved, i.e. not collapsing from exhaustion merely to start again tomorrow.
Read MoreThe triangular arrangement and attitude of each player speaks to broad, stable social structures that maintain some people/organisations/ institutions to hold onto particular prosperity-power dynamics. Paradoxically, perpetual one-sided giving or receiving is not sustainable. Either reciprocity becomes the norm, and / or …out come the scales.
Read MoreWhat’s key here is respite, not escape. Because the swords - represented here as troublesome immovable thoughts - are going along for the ride, and fixed (stuck) in the belly of the boat. … A bit like ‘baggage’, you’re taking these swords/thoughts/beliefs with you. You’re not denying them, you just need break.
Read MoreInsomnia and sleep disorders are a vast a varied issue that requires a multi-pronged review. But when it comes to a mind that’s laying on a 9 sword load of heavy thoughts, particularly if they’re unsolvable, or they’re world-other problems, then giving up the anxiety of the fight through some form of acceptance and detachment from them can help in the moment.
Read MorePsycho-spiritually, transformation and healing can happen when we’re able to synthesise opposites or reconcile differences that occur within us, or between us and the outer world; like, this-that, self-other, good-bad, right-wrong, light-dark, conscious-unconscious, body-mind, masculine-feminine etc.. So it’s not so much about choosing one way or thing, and not the other, but by seeing what arises as both unite.
Read More… with this type of insidious, shadowy and mesmerising force - a softly, softly approach will not cut it. You have to meet it with an equally powerful and drastic measure to rid yourself of it.
Read More… when we place these superhuman ideals of what a father is, on everyday human fathers, then we as individuals in a child-father dynamic might have felt anything from mild, to extreme deficiency in the relationship if father didn’t meet up to the ‘expectation’.
Read More… on one hand, there is much that is beyond your control, and on the other, the choices you make matter. How you use your power can make a difference to you and others. So if you were even for a moment to observe your domain from a higher plane, take an expanded all encompassing impersonal (God-like?) view, your choices and actions might take a different flavour.
Read MoreSo the priestess … is not trying to grapple back power or gain acceptance by embodying sanctioned masculine qualities of physicality, force and logic. This dark feminine is the conscious feminine aspect of Self that works within the quiet, mysterious and unconscious realms. Less doing, more being. Less out there, and more in here.
Read MoreHow you behave in words and actions during conflict teaches you about the health and responsiveness of your nervous system, and your boundary style. If you’re not conscious of that, how you are during conflict can be a direct reaction based on your conditioning, wounds or traumas, rather than the circumstances in front of you today.
Read More… With 3 generations being depicted in the image, you’re also being asked to step back and take a deep time perspective. Where you can observe from your higher mind, a longer and wider view of family and where you – at this point in time - are in the mix.
Read More... At certain times I find that inspiration and ideas seem to come all at once. There’s a build up of creative energy ... and depending on your mindset, this can be invigorating OR overwhelming. But, as wands are connect to the element of fire, this raw creativity needs to go somewhere, lest inspiration and ideas fizzle from lack of attention, OR the sparks rise up into a fire that burns out of control ...
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