my week ahead

OK im getting braver now, going to go for a spread with 7 cards and the DPO. In a bid to put the past week behind me, I'm going to read for the week coming - so between now and the 17 January.

The spread...
------1-------------7---
--------2---------6-----
----------3-----4-------
-------------5----------
Its the horseshoe spread, that is well used and loved by most tarotists out there, and I do love it. I usually like to play with the Umbrae version of it, but as I'm doing a reading for this week coming and not to look at the future 2 weeks and beyond.

1st card - past Borage Rx
its not been the time to get angry or get even. In fact theres been a swallowing of some anger and feeling upset and wanted to fight my own corner. Its been appropriate to keep the sword in the scabbard. Even words havent been a weapon to use (if you think about swords/air/words in the tarot). Others might think I have been apathetic, been very quiet and not running into war like I usually would. But its been the better option at the time, considering Mercury Retrograde its best to say nothing at all lol.

2nd card - present Vervain Ux
That the decision to be quiet has been the right one for me at this time. That I have spent time working within my own power, finding and healing and procesing stuff. Im at a point where I feel very groovy and happy with my lot, and trusting in Spirit that what is right will weave in or out of my life. But Im very grateful to all the stuff I have and have had. Sounds a bit fluffy and wishy washy, but its very true :D

3rd card - near future Cuckoo Pint Rx
I feel here that this is another warning that before the end of the week, things are going to seem rocky again. That things will come together one way or another, but not without a very awkward moment or two where I'll want to shout and scream 'my truth' when really its just spitting venom. It would seem silly after carefully holding my tongue to finally pop and ruin all the hard work i've done!
Having said that I am working nights next week, and a lack of sleep and general grumpyness will not help me speak my truth in a fair and eloquent manner. Lets try to remember the lessons from the week previous Sarah lol.
Yes, that flower of the cuckoo pint does look like a tongue.

4th card - answer - Mugwort Rx
Wait for the tide to change. Do not try to force things to change or to unmuddy the waters myself until Spirit is ready to let me see.
Its hard, I want to jump up and down and demand an answer from a few people right now - but its best to just ride out the storm and wait till things are calmer.
Perhaps definately wait till a new moon and mercury goes direct again on the early hours of friday morning.
Perhaps it would be good to not to any readings etc until after friday then after this, i dont want to muddy my own waters and get lots of conflicting ideas. I've done work over the weekend of sitting and surrendering to Spirit, so I should just keep on with it until its time to see things again.

5th card - people/energy surrounding querent - Mint Ux
Well that looks quite tranquil and pretty. One might almost say boring LOL. A getty with no boats, no where to go etc. But its only more journeys, more distractions Im looking at, rather than focusing within.
Or focus on work, getting paper work done, getting over working nights etc.
Perhaps seeing the world from sunset to sunrise will be an interesting way of changing my tides (which funnily enough my last night is on friday night, so it could be that things will feel clearer from saturday onwards?)

6th card - attitudes/hope and fears - Comfery Ux
Well, comfrey is bonewort - it unites and puts things back together. So with the warning of cuckpoo pint to make sure things heal up in the right place and without me losing my temper. The book mentions healing something from the inside out, and I feel I have done a lot to work on personal stuff, so Im waiting to see if that comes through into bringing some sort of resolution to 'external' stuff. We'll see.

7th card - outcome of 3rd card/whole layout Nettle Rx
Stop being so irritable LOL.
Hopefully I'd have learnt over the last few weeks that ya know, things happen for a reason and we say and do crazy stuff...
I do have a bit of a catholic tendency to keep birching, or nettling myself over an issue, beating myself up over and over after its well and truly gone. So the idea of the layout is to just move on, stop beating yourself up. Theres no more big 'stings' left, I've dealt with things as best as possible and the rest is up to the Gods.

The base care is Burdock Ux
yes I have done my best to get the learning from the past week or so, and i hope I am still processing it. But not in a place to just get a quick result, as the destination isnt important, its the journey, its the learning and its being hopeful. I think at one point I did feel like throwing in the towel last week, but my 'attachments' my friends have been wonderful in reminding me of whats groovy about me and groovy about my spirituality. Even when ya feel like crap, its fertilizer for roses to grow later :D

Overall - dont be a pillock, hold your tongue and dont lose your temper (well really try not to) and wait to see what the universe wants to unfold for you. I was sat infront of the fire earlier on with my dad and I was there quiet happy just feeling warm and snug, and he comes along, keeps jabbing at it and somehow KILLS the damn fire! So, the lesson here is just dont poke, let it flow and enjoy the rewards of everyone and everything in nature doing its thing..

reminds me of Crowley - Love is the Law, Love under Will.
And I never thought this morning I'd link Crowley with the DPO LOL.
I also guess that this will be the only posting of a reading that I'll put here on the blog for a week, if I take the advice to heart in the Mugwort card.
Of course, I'll have to remember to draw a card around the 15/16th for the Druid Plant Month ahead!

Adios Amigos
/|\

Musings on the Sacred Garden

Last night I was shuffling the cards before bedtime, something I often do when I just want to sit and feel whats happening around me.

I was shuffling the DPO and I was thinking back to some of my original musings, on the plants and the idea of if ogham trees form a grove, then druid plants may form a garden. If they do then this is a place I can visit on the OtherRealms!

So, I sat back and continued to shuffle, occassionally looking at a card if it flipped over or when I wanted to peak at one and just got myself into a meditative state. I put aside all the real life stuff, all the thinkery that happens in my head and just relaxed.

I found myself walking along a path in the forest. The Hawthorn was in bloom and the Blackthorn deeply in leaf, the ash trees were chasing the oak leaves to see who would turn green first. I heard the odd buzz of an insect and just generally tapped into this very vibrant spring energy as I walked.

Soon the path came into a clearing with a small boothy and then a few people busy working at some flower beds. It was just off this sacred grove path and there were women tending to the plants. 2 were digging, skirts hitched to their waists, and the other one was on the ground thinning out some shoots. I stood for a while and just watched them work. I'm rubbish at actual gardening and they seemed so involved what they were doing that I didnt want to interrupt them.
As I stood and watched them working at flower beds and raised borders I noticed that there was a garden path, a wavey path that went through some of the beds and to an archway, so I followed the path.
The archway was made out of stone (I think I expected something made of climbing clamatis or something) which was covered in thick ivy. The stone was cool by dry to the touch, slightly crumbly under my fingers like sandstone but it wasnt a red stone. After touching it my fingers smelt of 'green' sort of freshly cut grass-ish. It seemed to me the archway was there way before the garden was, but Im not sure why I'd say that.

Walking through the archway was an area that was just wild. It wasn't a clearing from the trees, and infact I dont remember seeing any trees at all. There was the rush of water in the distance but I didnt see a stream or river. There was just plants growing everywhere. Some starting to bloom, bees greedily rushing from flower to flower. I almost felt like I was interrupting a very important conversation as I stood there soaking it all in, and after a while the tension seemed to ease in the 'wild garden' (I have no other word for it). I just felt deeply nourished by this place, it felt very old, as if the seeds from the new cultivated garden (in comparison to this older garden) had come from here. That these were the 'Oak Men' of the plant kingdom. Looking back on it, I should have looked close to the ground to see if there were any plant sized ents! (Ok slightly batty idea, but an interesting one!).

I stayed for as long as I felt welcome, but it was so blissful there in the sunshine. Birds singing, insects all over the place and plants just humming together. I wonder if deep within the groundcover of plants are some remains of standing stones or some sort of worship site?

Walking back on the path, through the archway and there again I saw the 3 women, only this time on what appeared to be a 'tea break' (I believe these are VERY important to gardeners, but being the worst gardener in the world, I wouldnt know LOL). One was keen to talk to me and called me towards her with a smile on her face, a smudge of soil where she had scratched her nose as she worked the earth.
I know that we communicated but I cant remember what we had shared, only that I am aware that somewhere in the Gardens there is another one to find! But it doesnt always come out to play. How exciting!

I then started to leave the realm that I was and felt myself returning to my body once again, still shuffling, still aware of the snow covering my house, my inability to drive anywhere because my car is frozen, and felt deeply honourd to have experienced something of the Sacred Garden and the folk that tend to it!

Friday's 2 card draw

Todays cards that i've just pulled are Primose and the base card was Meadowsweet. (reversals shuffled in but didnt come up)

Primrose has that wonderful winter glow with the snow covered the ground. My house is covered in snow and its even frozen up my car (so lost without my car!). But I keep drawing primrose and Im always at a loss for what it means to me. Maybe I keep drawing it on days when I just get a burst of creativity and awen?
On the Primrose card there is Cowslip which is such a wonderful delicate flower. I have yet to see one in the wild (although its so small I could miss it!) but I have grown it in pots. Part of the lore around cowslip is to find out what has been revealed - reminding me of the Awen from Ceridwen's brew, of a radiant brow :) Not saying mine is radient, but maybe the odd lightbulb is on lol.

The base card is Meadowsweet, asking us to mark transitions with celebration. Often linked with Beltane and handfastenings. Some of the lore also refers to how Meadownsweet may well be sacred to the druids because of its ability to flavour mead and its pain relieving qualities.
Well Im not drinking mead tonight, but it'll be interesting to see what may be revealed and how it will be celebrated!

coz so far, i aint got a clue!

PCG

Well this is a blatant bit of OH MY GODS..

but my wee blog got featured on Philip Carr Gomm's blog!!!!



How awesome is that!


I'm sure I'll get to post something relevant to the cards sometime tonight!

But whilst Im doing some self-promotion, here is a link to a seminar I did for the OBOD message board based on working with tarot and how it weaves into my druidry.


I have something to share thats a bit fab! But later, dinner first and then I'll start posting DPO stuff

end of tuesday's card

So I've drawn a card to reflect how I am at the moment - apres la wobble, after good chats with fabulous friends (who I love, thank you!) and just in general.
I got Lady's Mantle

Now this a tough card, because the imagery on the card itself isn't great. You have the plant, with the perfect dew drop in the plant, and then a Sheila Na Gig.
OK so maybe we have LOTS of imagery really lol.

The book suggests meanings of connecting deeper with the Goddess, the more intuitive and emotional aspects of our beings. Well I've definitely done that. I have looked into the bubble and found truth and hopefully a bit of wisdom. I also have sore eyes lol.

What I do think though is that Lady's Mantle may be offering a way forward. Rather than looking for ways of feeling underwhelmed with myself, look for small things that make me feel better about myself and what I have in my life. Its so easy to look in the mirror of the Dewdrop and see negativity. Sometimes we need to be kinder to ourselves and see the good - because that is also true!

Well thats my thought, and I am keeping to it. Its a very nourishing thought for me at the moment.

Base card was Heather so perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to make better use of my improving mood post-processing hurhurhur;)

Monday's Daily Cards

OK, Monday morning before work I pulled three cards..

Borage, Woad and Mistletoe Reversed
The base card of the pack was Juniper

At half 6 in the morning I thought 'what the hell?' and thought nothing of it. Today I can reflect on those cards with something really interesting, which sort of follows on from the reading I did on Sunday.

Borage I feel relates to needing personal courage to deal with stuff on the inside. Lore comes to mind about people putting borage in their shoes to be safe and couragous on a journey, or for warriors to drink borage tea before going off into battle. It deals with our own inner wobble, that crisis of confidence, that insecurity, that voice that keeps nagging at us and stills it. It fills us not with outward artificial energy, but with our own vitality of who and what we are. Its so easy to forget!
I got so caught up in my bubble yesterday I did self implode (see previous posting if your that nosey!). I needed to stop hiding and deal with why and what I was upset and that had knocked my energy off centre. Not easy but had to be done. For me, true courage is me crying. Im rubbish at it, I feel like I shout at myself whilst I cry because Im meant to be brave and strong and keep it all in - well NO. Infact letting it out was far braver, far more couragous. I feel Borage did give me a bit of help.

Woad is then the next step. Once you realise you have an issue, you've confronted it in your head, you need to DEAL WITH IT. So Woad was that outward I need to speak to people, stand up for my truth and hear their truth and tell them what I think of them.
Not easy.... and very odd for me to do that in a place of owning and being open about my emotions, rather than just masking them behind anger and using the anger to bury my emotions.
So yeah, that was my 'body paint' to contact what had upset me and let them know, talk about it, discuss it and see what occurs.

Mistletoe Reversed shows that sometimes, what you think was one harvested tree, still has unexpectd fruit to grow. I thought I had process things and come to terms with stuff - but then a new stage in that process begins to unfold. First you have the wobble, then the processing, then the clarity :)
So yeah, rather than the very dire 'oh know whats going to be stripped and pulled out of my life now by Ceridwen's scythe' thought on monday morning, has now turned into something really postive that shows how I have stuff to learn still - and thats groovy!

The Juniper to me highlights that cleansing. I needed that emotional 'wash out' to just help with the processing. I needed to cry, to tie up loose ends and feel whole again. And I do feel Im on that way now.

I really do feel these plants are more than just an oracle.. they do offer their healing energies so much, as if their magic is helping you through your stuff! How awesome is that!

the Druid Plant Calendar - an idea

OK so after all that waffle about moons and calendars I thought about it some more.

I like the idea of the Druid Tree Calendar - but we all know its a bit made up and fake. Well, more than a bit... quite a lot LOL

So I thought about creating a druid plant calendar. But rather than sitting and logically doing it I want to see what the cards pick and then see how it connects to what occurred. Im not referring just to me in that period between moons, but in general - nature, the earth, the general kinda vibe.

But I do think that it needs to be done between the dark moon and first cresent of the moon. No idea why, just a feeling and Im going with my feelings.

So I am going to cheat by asking the deck which plant generally reflects the current lunar cycle. Its a sort of backdated cheque sort of reading, but it should work, for plants know more than most that Linear Time is an Oxymoron :D

I got Madder..

This I will need to ponder further on with less waffle (well, try to have less waffle) later lol

Edited to add after the moon period of Madder has happened

Now Im in the void, the no-moon between this plant and the next (which is Chamomile!) I thought I'd put some thoughts on Madder.
And this period has got madder and madder, or more weirder and weirder LOL. Looking at the ragging on the Elder tree and I did infact do some form of ragging over this period. Interesting huh?
The darkness of this time of year is ruled by Elder, and so by Madder, the weird dark unknown stuff that happens, the darkness of the year, the darkness of the womb, the darkness of the Cauldren of Annwn.
During this time we've had lots of snow, and I cant help be think of the Blood on the Snow, the sacrifices that we offer to improve our lives from one solar year to the next in the form of resolutions. We might even ask for advice from our Elders to pick the right ones, the tweaks other people can see we need to make - a bit of objectivity, as the darkness can fill us with paranoia and insecurity. OR,it could reflect how we often want to sacrifice our Elders as they drive us mad after spending all that time with them over the festive period. LOL.
Resiliance and strength is needed through the cold, the dark, the up and down of family life.... and all the reasons to get pissed with yule and christmas and new year and going back to work again lol.

The Moth i think is such an intrigueing animal with this plant. It is the guardian of the darkness, it will lead us to the light, lead us through the other side and seems always secure that the light will be there - even when we fear we'll never see it again.