Todays Reading - 9 of Bows - Respect

Today’s card is from The Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Matthews. The illustration is by the brilliant Will Worthington.

9 of Bows – Respect.

This card has come up a lot on my personal readings recently and has given me food for thought. At first glance the Wodwose on the card looks rather ferocious as if he means to frighten you away from your chosen path through the wild woods of your inner self. And in a way that is his intention. He is here to challenge your beliefs and actions.  He stands in your path, blocking forward movement. He is the challenge that has to be overcome to reach your goal. 

When we meet challenges and obstacles in life we often do a detour to avoid facing them. Sometimes they are fears within us, at other times these may be physical blockages to our actions. They may even be other people’s aversions to our chosen path. The problem with avoidance is that we can never reach our goal. We may instead reach a lesser destination that doesn’t meet with our expectations or fit our soul purpose. For a while this destination may even seem ok, but after a while it will not satisfy our needs. The answer is simple. To reach your goal you have to overcome challenges. So where does respect come in?

Respect comes into this situation in many ways. Firstly to overcome the Wodwose you must first respect him. You must offer him the chance to prove what he is, and why he is there. Look at your challenge carefully. Dig deep to find out what the cause may be. If it is another’s view of your path, why are they challenging you? Is it because you are doing things in the wrong way, you have some priority wrong, you are not offering respect to others but instead washing over them with your course of action? Perhaps it is merely their fears surfacing in which case you have no need to take them on board. 

On the other hand you may need to overcome a fear to reach your goal. Don’t just tell yourself that you are being weak, take time to respect your fear, look at what specifically bothers you. Is there a message from your subconscious in that fear, that is warning you of something, or is the fear misplaced? In other words whatever the blockage is that is stopping you from reaching your goal, you must respect it and spend some time with it so that you can gain any wisdom it is offering you, and then work out how to overcome it in a beneficial way that means it will not reoccur.

Another way that respect comes in here is, when you have challenged the Wodwose and won you gain greater respect for yourself and your abilities. You gain self belief. But you also gain the respect of others who have seen your struggle and know your hardships. 

You gain respect for your goal. When something is hard to reach, but you still get there, you appreciate it far more than something that is easy. You respect its value in your life and the lessons you have learnt in reaching it. You also respect others in their struggles to reach their own goals. 

Respect is something that can only be earned through hard work and learning the lessons thrown at you on your path. So what challenge lies before you? What does your Wodwose look like? Is he outside of you or within you? Spend some time today studying him. Show him the respect he deserves and then he may answer your questions and show you how to reach your destination. Battle and avoidance are not the correct way now. It is time to study this opponent and see him for what he really is.

For personal readings with this deck or many others please visit me at www.indigoreadings.co.uk

or email me indigo@indigoreadings.co.uk

Todays Reading - Maat and Tradition

Today’s cards are from the Goddess Guidance deck by Doreen Virtue with the illustration of Maat by Lisa Iris and The Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrations by Will Worthington.

Maat and The Nine of Stones (Tradition).

The card I pulled for today’s blog was Maat, the Goddess of divine order, justice and truth. As I got Maat a couple of weeks ago I decided to draw another card to accompany her and to try and pinpoint what today’s message is about. I have used the Goddess deck with The Wildwood Tarot very successfully in the past and so today we have the 9 of Stones from Mark Ryan’s deck to deepen the insight. The 9 of Stones is about Tradition and shows the man from the Gundestrup cauldron holding a Torc in one hand and a snake in the other. The moon is full behind him as he meditates in view of the Standing stones. The Torc represents lordship or authority and the snake represents wisdom. The Man himself connects us with our ancient past and the way in which people saw the world. The standing stones looming in the background give a sense of the ancestors making their presence known. The full moon reminds us to look a little harder for the truth as sometimes it is only found by searching through the shadows.

When I drew Maat I immediately thought again of the rioting on the streets in the UK. As a nation we have been appalled and angered by what we have seen, but now people are beginning to question why this has happened. Humans like to find answers and sometimes we clutch at the one we get to first as it’s easier than delving deeper into the grime and dirt, which may be full of creepy crawlies that we would rather ignore. 

I feel the message today is one of justice and fairness. The country wants both of these. The people who have been involved in the crimes committed will be brought to justice and dealt with fairly. But there is also the ongoing police enquiry as to why the police shot dead Mark Duggan, who apparently didn’t open fire first. In England the fact that you have an illegal weapon makes you a threat to lives and so this doesn’t immediately put the blame on the police. These cards are pointing into the truth coming to light and again justice being served fairly.

Many journalists are now turning to the psychological reason of why these teenagers (mostly) think that rioting is a good idea at all! Yesterday’s card gives us the reason. Lack. But the Tradition card is telling us that there is more to this than meets the eye. This problem goes back into history. Rioting has always been something that humans do if they feel they are lacking something. The blame always falls on the authority figures as they are the ones that we feel should be putting things right. So the traditional way to ‘have a go’ back, and vent frustration is to become a mob and destroy all in your path. On the way you get to loot others possessions which helps to ease the risk of injury or capture. The possessions taken though do not belong to the authorities that the mob is angry with.  The people who have had their buildings, transport or homes destroyed become angry and their anger is directed towards the authority who are struggling to regain peace. What a mess it all is! 

So if the reason for the rioting is a long standing problem, one that has been repeated throughout history, perhaps the solution lies in the same direction. We need to look to the past and see what went wrong, and also how to put it right. Perhaps we need to learn what NOT to do, and then seek new solutions. In my view our way of dealing with the problem of rioting hasn’t changed much over centuries. The reasons for rioting haven’t changed either. If this is so, isn’t it time that something changed? Isn’t it time that we took up the snake of wisdom and meditated on how we can change society at a fundamental level so that lack is dealt with fairly and we see that what is really lacking is love, family, community, responsibility and relationship. Being without TV, phones, games, computers etc is not lack. That is all about want. People these days don’t know the difference. 

How we get from a materialistic culture to a caring culture is not easy to envisage. But somewhere in the shadows of our past the answer may lie. We just need to start looking.

For personal readings and courses visit http://www.indigoreadings.co.uk

Todays Reading - Bull in reverse

Today’s card is from the Druid Animal Oracle by Philip and Stephanie Carr- Gomm with illustration by Will Worthington.

Bull in Reverse.

The Bull is related to the God Taranis and can bring us a life full of abundance and expansiveness. The Bull symbolises wealth. What we need to bear in mind is that wealth starts in the heart and soul. Abundance is a way of seeing the world. If we view the world as a place full of love and happiness and see all the opportunities and benefits these bring we have a happy full life. If we view the world as one of lack, then no matter what we have it will never be enough.

The bull today is in reverse showing his negative traits. This bull is charging and rampaging around, shouting about his rights and what he is lacking. He wants others to provide for this lack and make it better as he has no motivation to provide it for himself. He is knocking over people’s possessions, perhaps not really noticing the destruction he has caused as he is so caught up in his madness. Does this sound familiar?

Here in the UK we have rioting on the streets. It began after a small peaceful demonstration relating to a police shooting. This then escalated into wanton destruction and violence and spread outwards through London and now into other cities. These people are the bull in reverse. They only see lack in their lives. This lack fuels their anger. They see others ransacking stores and gaining material possessions and think that they will do the same. They won’t conquer their lack any other way. No one will give them what they need so instead they will take it.

The police are struggling; the rest of the nation is appalled and glued to the media which is fuelling the whole problem. People are becoming angrier as they watch the scenes on the news. All that angry energy is like spears in the hide of the Bull. It is fuelling his madness.

Unfortunately telling these people that the way to experience less lack in their lives is to be responsible for their own thought processes, to look at the world through fresh eyes, to ignore the negativity that has come down through generations that says that someone else should be responsible for your happiness, is not going to work.

Globally we live in times of change and destruction on a grand scale. The bull is angry and hurting. He thinks he is misunderstood and is going to shout loudly and rampage until everyone has heard and given him what he wants. There are times when this negativity turns into a positive like the uprisings against unjust regimes, but here in the UK this problem is always simmering away, waiting for the time to erupt.

But we shouldn’t give up. The upright Bull is a marvellous creature full of abundance and beneficence. For anyone out there who is interested in sorting out the mess humanity has got itself into in the ‘civilised’ world in particular, it is times like these when focus and intention on love and peace help. If, instead of watching the scenes on the TV and feeling the negativity of all that is taking place, you instead switch off the set or the internet and spend time finding the peace within yourself, and then project this feeling of peace out into the world, you will make a difference. If enough people do this all the time, no matter what is going on in the world, it will make a difference. Positive energies manifest positive change. They bring about positive ideas that help others to heal. Instead of thinking of life on a personal level and how everything affects us and those closest to us, we need to start remembering that we are all connected. We are all part of that universal web of energy and if one person creates a positive ripple, it will spread. Try not to focus on how long it will take as it may take lifetimes. That doesn’t matter. Your grandchildren will benefit from all those ripples that start with you at the centre. And that is a positive step.

For readings and courses in self advancement please visit http://www.indigoreadings.co.uk

Todays Reading - Betony

Today’s card is from the Druid Plant Oracle by Philip and Stephanie Carr- Gomm. The illustration is by Will Worthington.

Betony drawn reversed.

The card shows Wood Betony, which according to Pliny was the best type of this plant to use in herbal medicine. Betony was a bit of a super plant, an All Heal, with a great many properties, including antiseptic, antispasmodic and anti bacterial. It can be found worldwide.

In reverse this card is asking us to make sure we are not avoiding something that needs sorting out. It is often easier to put conflict to bed without fully confronting the issues involved. This may help us get on with life in the present but eventually the problem will need addressing and by the time you get round to it you may find it harder to deal with. When we put something negative off it has a habit of, not only growing, but also creeping into our psyche and taking hold in lots of ways that we might not, at first be aware of. I think of problems like parasites. They have a nasty habit of escalating into a full blown infection if we don’t see to them straight away!

Problems are always there in the back of our minds causing tension and stress. They niggle at us while we procrastinate and make excuses as to why we need to sort them out at some other time. Unfortunately the procrastination is a symptom of the problem. It’s like the parasite trying to divert our attention away so it can stay in our warm cosy body a little longer! 

So no matter what the issue is sort it out today. Not everything will be sorted quickly and easily but you DO need to make a start. Get the problem out, air it, begin to look at ways to eradicate it. Stamp on that parasite and don’t allow it any more of your time and energy than it takes to remove it. Have the courage to heal whatever wounds it has caused you, because, in the end, the sense of release and relief when it has gone will be so worth it.

Betony was often used to ease headaches, dispel negativity and encourage reconciliation. Let this card do the same for you today.

For personal readings please visit http://www.indigoreadings.co.uk

Todays Reading - Healing

Today’s card is from the Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Matthews with illustration by Will Worthington.

7 of Stones – Healing

I love the tranquillity of this card. The landscape is barren and wintery; the sun is setting in the sky and all these signs point to a time of rest and recuperation. Winter is the time when we look inwards on our spiritual journey, search for answers to the new questions that have come up in our lives, but in a soft, mulling of ideas way, rather than a full on quest. Winter, with its short days leaves us time to rest in front of the fire, lick our wounds and heal tired cold bodies.

The image in this card that immediately grabs my attention is the Green Woman, a persona close to my own heart. I love her gentle vitality and energy and obvious confidence that she brings to the scene. Confidence in her own powers and the outcome, which is healing of the man on the floor in front of her. Look at the stones that ring them. They may be offering shelter and protection while the healing occurs, but they are also leaning inwards as if drawn to the energy in the circle. They look like they are listening. But what are they listening to? Or are they lending their power to the healing with their deep, solid, ancient strength?

The fact that this scene is occurring on a hill is also significant to me. Notice that they are halfway up the hill. This signifies that with rest and recuperation and time for healing you will not decline further. You are at a balancing point with your health. Now is the time to take the steps to heal so that you don’t go further downhill.

So what message does this card offer us for today? We all have some part of us that is in need of healing. It may not be physical; it may be emotional or psychological or even on a soul level. Now is the time to be aware of where we need healing and to take steps to do something about it before the balance tips the wrong way. Once you start going downhill the momentum will pick up and you will get to a point where you can no longer take steps to initiate the healing you need. The journey back up the hill will be tougher, longer and more dangerous.

You may read this and think, I know I need healing, but I’m not sure why, or how it should happen or what I need healing from? The card holds a big clue as to how to begin the healing process. The Green woman can be seen as Mother Nature in her protective, nurturing, life giving form. Get yourself out into nature this weekend. Sit for a while and see if answers start to flow. If not you will still return home feeling better on many levels. 

This weekend, rest is vital, give yourself a break and take time off from any routine. If possible book a holiday or just plan when you can get out into nature again, and where to go. This weekend is a time for healing yourself. Once you are healed and balanced again, then you can help heal those around you, or the relationships that need healing. But as usual the way forward has to start with you.

Heal yourself and then heal others.

For readings with this deck go to www.indigoreadings.co.uk