Listening to Grandmother

I’m trying to get back in the habit of writing up posts so I thought I’d share a little story from my day yesterday.  I’ve been doing a lot more foraging from the wild lately, edibles, acorns, plants for dyes, etc.  Since I’m also a dip-pen and fountain pen enthusiast, I had decided to also use the numerous black walnuts around me to make some black walnut ink.  Taking a break from my studying, I went for a walk to find some black walnuts.

It’s late in the season to be sure and I knew any I would find would be black and decomposing.  In other words, perfect for ink.  After a quick stroll around I’d found very little since the leaves had also begun dropping in large numbers, covering what I was looking to find.  I then opted to go to a nearby park where also stood Grandmother Tulip.  Not only would I pay my respects to her and the Fey there, I’d look around for some walnuts.  I’d first encountered Grandmother Tulip over a year ago.  Go here for the three part entry on it.

Grandmother Tulip and I have built an extraordinary relationship.  I’ve taken my family and close family members to go see her.  Everyone who has met her has remarked, without me saying anything, on how gentle and loving she feels.  My daughter likes to just hug her and sit underneath her.  To me, it is a sacred relationship.  I always approach her with deep respect and she always greets me with love.  This afternoon was no different as I approached, laid a hand on her and just relaxed.  She told me a few things about the coming winter and I made sure to share some of my energy with her which I felt her pull into her roots and then “pulse” outward to the other nearby trees.  As if on cue I heard a breeze begin to the north and I smiled as it gently played through the woods.

As an afterthought I asked her, “So, do you mind telling me where I might find some walnuts?”  I felt a pulse of warmth and then I felt the same feeling I get when I’m dowsing and get a strong “hit.”  I felt a pull to the north and in my mind’s eye I saw an overhead map of where in the park I should go.  It was a very strong communication and I had to laugh out loud.  I said my thanks and my goodbyes, promising to be back in a few weeks.  In my communications with her so far I’ve learned that trees have a much different scale of time.  The best I can tell they operate on more “stretched out” version and it wasn’t too far removed from the way the Ents treated time in Tolkien’s works.

I walked over to that side of the park and noted no other black walnut trees until I got to the area indicated on the mental map.  Following with some directionless dowsing/intuition, I left the trail and walked to the spot on the mental map she had indicated.  Standing there was an adult black walnut tree with black nut hulls all around it.  I had the urge to applaud.  I’m not sure why.

I greeted her, said my thanks and felt an answer.  As I came nearer I saw an entire pile of black walnut husks peeled away, most likely, by a busy squirrel gathering the inner walnuts for storage.  I filled up a grocery bag with the forage and left the tree a small geode crystal I had found in my foraging as I said my goodbyes.

Walking back to my car with a smile I thought to myself, “Had it all just been that easy?”

Yes.  Yes it had been.

Thanks for Waiting on Me

It’s hard to describe what the past several months have brought my direction. In a previous post I mentioned that it was the result of manifestation work and I want to offer a bit more explanation. Four months ago, I started doing/making direct manifestation work in relation to finishing up my college degree which had gone dormant for about twenty years.  I asked the Universe pretty directly if it was a good idea and was told it would require a great amount of physical and mental energy but the idea was an excellent one.

I began to ask for direction and to look for signs pointing the way.  A little over three months ago, things opened up and against the grain of what I thought possible it became possible, bureaucratically and financially, for me to go back to school. In a flurry, I completed my re-registration, signed on for classes, and came to college for one final insane semester so as to finish up my degree by December.

This is where I have been. I’d thought I would have time to do a few videos and some posts.  I was so wrong! Given the fact I’m taking a little more than the required 12 credits and have a family, I’ve been incredibly swamped.  I’ve come to a whole new relation to what “sleep dep” really means to me.   However, I’ve kept up with my spiritual assignments via the Wildwood Tarot Bow Spread and just wrapped up a fairly intense one for Samhain.   The assignments have had an interesting focus of review, cutting away, death and renewal. I’ve spent a great deal of time looking at the very core of what I know and shaving away the parts that, although needed at one point, are no longer necessary to carry.  More than that, it’s been a deeply distilling process of application.

As to the Wildwood, I’m not sure what else to say.  If you follow this blog you know my deep seated love of The Faeries Oracle. It will always be special to me.   Yet, the Wildwood tarot deck has easily become one of the most amazing decks  I’ve ever worked with in my experience.  Since my reading I posted here about my work up to Lammas, I’ve regularly drawn a card almost daily so as to get regular instruction on my the information offered from the core readings.  It’s been nothing short of amazing and I’ve never seen so many Major Arcana cards coming forward time and time again.

A simple and recent example – In the early morning liminal space of November 1st,  I began my reading for information leading me from Samhain to Midwinter Solstice.  For warm-up, I drew a single card that would give me help with the day first.  Had things been wrapped up nicely at Samhain?  Where was I in my path and in my lessons?  As I shuffled, just as normally and gently as I had all the other days previously, something happened and a card literally flew upwards out of the deck, flipped over in front of my eyes and then floated to the floor and landed face up.  The card?   The World Tree. (The Universe Card in normal Tarot decks.)

“The great World Tree marks the end of the Wanderer’s Journey…” 

A true symbol that although things were far from over, some very initial and important work had been done and completed.  I made sure to really sit back and drink things in on the 1st including going to a local labyrinth for an afternoon walk.  During that walk a small still voice reminded me about this blog and that I needed to come back to it.  With my internal work over, it was time to come back.

I realized something else during the walk; the origin of that internal work.  The work and energy I had put into some things earlier in the year had opened a flood gate of information and connections which affected me more than I had given them credit for when I first encountered them.  If you remember I did a reading regarding rising Earth energies on the youtube channel.  I feel very strongly that this energy is continuing to rise and it’s effects can be felt worldwide.  I believe that it’s this rise in energy that caused me to become a bit more internal.  Almost as if the Universe was urging me to make sure the engine or the connection was running as clearly as possible and with a minimum amount of unneeded extras.  I also had a  handful of experiences with my card readings and some very intense dowsing/spiritual experiences (some of which I’m still trying to get my brain around.)  Add in a family move and a brand spanking new college semester and the resulting sum equals “not enough time in the day.”

So, as the switch happens from internal to external work I’m glad to be back and I will do my best to get at least one post out a week if possible.  If nothing else I promise not to let several months go by.  I want to extend my deepest thanks for all of you that have stuck with the blog during my absence.  Thank you for your support and your well wishes.

Now, let’s see what we can find out there!

 

 

 

Coming Back Soon!

I just posted this over on my Youtube account and I figured it deserved a cut-n-paste.

“Life got busy with a bunch of spectacular things and I have been SLAMMED. Warning – this is what can happen when you do your manifesting work correctly. Wow. A good kind of busy but wow… I’d like to get more than 4 or 5 hours sleep a night. I’ll be back soon. I promise!”

Seriously, I’m not sure I can explain it any better than that.  When you start doing intentional, focused work with Spirit you better get ready for exactly what you ask for.  Even if you think you LOVE what you’re asking for you better be ready to Love it even more than you thought possible. If you like to dance and you do intentional work to be a dancer then you need to get ready to dance like your legs were on fire.

The past two months have been that sort of fire and quite frankly I don’t know which parts I feel comfortable talking about on a public blog.  I’ll hopefully be able to sort it out and get back here in a few days.

Ok, so I managed to explain it a bit better anyway.  I will be back soon.  I’ve got some great stories to tell after all.

On The Road to Lammas with the Wildwood Tarot

So, in perfect timing with a large move, I got an assignment from the Universe.

It wasn’t a surprise.  I had asked for it in the first place.  About ten days ago, I realized that  in my dumb, ego filled way, I had not asked the Universe/Powers That Be what THEY would like for me to work on.  It was always on my time, always on what I wanted.  It struck me it had been a very long time since I had stepped back and simply asked for advice.

Using the upcoming First Harvest Festival of Lammas as a marker I decided to see what I needed to work on up to that point.  After Lammas, I would ask again and continue to do so.  I sat in quiet meditation and was given the information I should use my new Wildwood Tarot deck.  I set some time aside the next day and proceeded to download what I needed to know.  The results surprised me with their accuracy and strength but what should one expect when they finally take the time to ask, “Hey, Universe, what would you like for me to do?”

Since picking up the Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Mathews, I have been overwhelmed with the connection I have with the card set.  I would venture to say it rivals my connection to the Faeries Oracle deck which is REALLY saying something.  I’ve not combined the two in a reading just because I am a bit concerned a swirling portal will open in my new apartment and  splay all manner of Fey and Wildwood denizens about the place.  Although fun, I’m afraid the mess to the surrounding area might be a bit hard to explain!  Regardless, I will give it a go in the near future and the neighbors will just have to deal with the noise.

I’ve always been very laid back about my decks and who touches or even uses them.  It’s odd to hear myself say this when I am talking about the Wildwood Tarot but I find that this deck, and this deck alone, is the only deck I will not let anyone else touch; not at this point anyway.

If you have any connection to the primal pulse of Nature/Earth energy, work with any nature based religion, or just have a calling to Mother Earth’s Dreamtime then it’s in your favor to pick up a copy of this deck.  Follow the links to the deck’s website so as to get a better feel.  For now, I am going to be very sparse with images from this deck because I want to respect the fact it’s a new deck and the images are VERY different.  If I gain permission to put more up, I most certainly will because the images by Will Worthington are absolutely stunning!

I used the Bow Spread from the included book.  I intuitively felt it matched  the question I was asking of the deck.  My “aim” for the bow was to know what I needed to know leading up to Lammas.

I also used my L-rod to choose the cards instead of choosing them myself.  I also used the L-rods to help answer any questions I had during the reading.  I’ve started doing this more as a way to clarify any confusion in a reading and to help suss out answers to questions.  Note – I’ve taken the numerous pages I wrote and parred down to the central essence of the reading.

1.) Significator – The Great Bear
(Also Judgement in a traditional Tarot deck.)  The Great Bear is the sentinel of the Passage grave.  A time of great change.  An initiate waits to be reborn.  Being reborn in the place of stillness.

2.) The Bow (The point in which to focus skills) – Knight of Stones, Horse
Healthy, physical activity.  Physical strength will be important.

3.) Conscious Limb (How do you “think” about the question) – 7 of Stones, Healing
Healing and closure on the conscious level, on the thoughts and mental aspects that have wounded me.  The deepest stages of healing is forgiveness.

4.) Spiritual Limb (How do you “feel” about the question) – The Wanderer
(Also the Fool in trad. tarot.)  A juncture.  A turning point.  A time to feel some adventure and leap.  No fear.

5.) String of the Bow (Energy of situation) – The Journey
(Also the Death card.) Leap into the dark.  Do not fear change.  Time to lay the past to rest with love and thanks.  A shifting and transition to the next phase.  Lots of momentum here.

6.) Fletching (What guides the solution) – 9 of Stones, Tradition
Lessons from the past.  Guidance will come from traditional places and sources.  Listen to the wisdom of past spirits for this is not new to them.

7.) Arrowhead (Intent of the reader.  The Outcome) – 3 of Stones, Creativity
Creative energy manifestation requires a clean and open channel that, in this case, is about to be cleared by a powerful phase of transition.  Be ready to not only listen but for your creativity to ramp up 100 fold.  Be ready for creation to spring forward as the old burns away.

Overview

It was obvious, right from the start, Spirit wanted to talk to me about this move and to reassure me.  The idea to move to our new place was concerning me a great deal and was, literally, a leap of faith (see the Wanderer card above.)  It also wanted to warn me.  I had already sensed this coming but this was confirmation this was more than just a move.  Spirit wanted me to understand that this was a SHIFT and a MOVE.  It was to not be taken lightly and it was an opportunity to leverage the move on the physical in order to make a shift on the spiritual.  The spirit of the situation, The Journey or Death, made that VERY clear to me.

The new place would be a  MUCH better place for our spirituality since it is nestled up, very nicely, against the woods and the ridge I have come to love since living in the area.  In fact, it’s the woods where most of my Earth Energy videos have been shot.  If you’ve followed my Youtube channel, you’re aware that I also recently stepped out of the broom closet and have been trying to walk my talk a bit more publicly.  This move was my chance to purge the old, stifling habits and to really integrate my inner spirituality with my everyday, physical living environment.   For instance, previousl,y my workspace had been down in a small windowless room of the basement.  Now, the plan was to make the middle level into office spaces for my wife and I and I  would be openly displaying my books and decks for my friends and family to see when they come to visit.  A first for me and a fairly big deal.

The Conscious Limb, 7 of Stones, was spot on as well as over the past ten days I have faced many opportunities to heal from past mental wounds.  For instance, I found a small box of old love letters from my first fiancee from high school.  I think they had been dropped off by my mother who found them in an old storage place.  She handed them off to me and I think in a rush not to deal with them I stuffed them in a corner.  I found mementos of my past college days and had to sort out and deal with them.  I discovered, with only a little difficulty this time, that in order to heal one has to open up, thank and release.  I’ve released a lot in the past several weeks.

In addition, the 7 of stones shows a man lying in a stone circle and being healed by the Green Woman.  I used this imagery several times as I drifted off to sleep in the evening.  Each night, I asked for healing energy and the strength to get through this time.

I had to laugh about the Knight of Stone/Horse card since I would be the one doing most of the heavy lifting.  How was I to know, during the actual move, that I would be lifting, carrying and struggling for four days in 100+ heat and humidity.  Like a horse, indeed!

Every day since the reading I focused on my path as described in this reading and pulled a card to ask for advice for my path to Lammas.  Imagine my surprise when on the morning of the first two days I drew The Great Bear twice in a row!  On the third day I drew The Journey.  Each day, more information, more aid in walking the path to Lammas.  As I write this, I have The Mirror guiding me which reminds me to ease up today, to reflect, to surrender my will and be patient.  The next few days are coming and Lammas will soon be here.   (And, today, while I edit this before posting, I’ve drawn the Ancestor card for the day before Lammas.  “The Ancestor stands before the gateway of nature which symbolizes another beginning…”)

All in all, it was a powerful reading that gave me a very clear path leading up to the coming holiday of first harvest.  Several times during the move I could see how hard we were working and see similarities to a farm family working in the field so as to get in the first harvest.  That was us and we were “reaping what we have sown.”

Sitting now in my new office space and looking out at the beautiful summer woods from my porch, I cannot say “thank you” enough and I’m curious to see what comes at Lammas with my next “assignment.”

Quick Update

The move is over and now it’s time for us to sort through the cardboard.  More importantly it’s the time to look at things even more closely and ask, “Now, why did I move this again?”  I just wanted to hop on here briefly and say that I’m hurriedly working on a post about what I am calling my “Road to Lammas.”

It’s what happens when you unabashedly ask the Universe, “So, what do you want me to do next?”

Coming up soon and I’ll be back in no time with more posts on dowsing and the tarot!

 

 

Gearing Up For The Shift

I wanted to post very briefly regarding some news.  I’ve mentioned it on a vid with my youtube channel but I wanted to get something down here as well.  The good news?  My family is in the middle of a full move to a wonderful new location on the other side of our neighborhood.  More on how all of that came to be in another post.  The challenging part?  I will most likely be out of touch for the next 5 – 10 days as we deal with all the fun and excitement that moving during  a heat wave can throw at you.

There is no coincidence that the move is coming on the final days before Lammas Day, the first harvest festival of the year.  Nor that I went through an amazing experience with my new Wildwood Tarot deck at the end of last week as it laid out to me all that I have to be ready for before internally before Lammas hits.  A very busy, active, summery time indeed!  Again, more on all of that soon.  I’ll be giving a full explanation of the reading and talking about this amazing tarot deck soon enough.

It will all depend on the next few days and how much free time I can carve out.  Be well!

Triskelion Spread Explained

I promised that I’d post a bit more on the Triskelion Spread and here it is!  Please check out the video below.  Apologies for the poor lighting and quality.  I’m working on a slightly better camera in the future.

In the vid, I run through a sample reading and talk a bit more about how the different branches can interact to give a very integrated reading for three separate spheres in your life.

In working with this spread I’ve found something very interesting that happens during the readings.   I guess you would call it, for lack of a better term,  a sense of dizzy happiness.  I think it comes from the spin and counterspin of the layout and the origin of the symbol upon which it is based.  It’s important to mention the cards are always laid down in a clockwise or sunwise pattern.  However, note the branches bend back in a counterclockwise way like a triskelion’s arms.  When you get out to the third card and begin to analyze how it might be impacting the other two branches I think you’ll notice a nice, light spinning feeling starting to occur energy-wise as your eyes bounce visually over the reading.  Of course, it could just be me and my love of the symbol.

If you’re not familiar with a triskelion, it’s one of the oldest symbols recorded and a general overview can be found here.  I’ve found triskelions to be incredibly important when dealing with natural energy sites when I dowse .  They speak to the incredibly swirling multi-banded energy that can come swirling off sites throughout the natural landscape.  I think it no coincidence the triskelion is very similar to the Daoist yin/yang symbol.

I would very much like to hear your comments on the spread or more about the readings you’ve done with it.  Feel free to make a response video if you’d like or just comment here.

The Triskelion Spread

Spirit can talk to us in many ways, offer many gifts.  It can hit us with a flash-pop of inspiration or whisper quietly to us in meditation.  It can, and often does, use both.  Lately, Spirit honored me with information of a new spread and I’ve decided to share.  I gave it a quick look on the internet to make sure I wasn’t duplicating anything and couldn’t find a match.  It came to me during the flow of working with a client for a reading.  While in the initial discussion of the reading, the client had three different angles in her life she wanted to cover.  All of them appeared to me be equally important and carrying impact on her life.  She wanted to get some general advice on each of them individually.

The twist?  We only had time for one reading.

Of course, a simple three card reading is the way to go in this situation but as I spoke with her I literally saw this spread flash in my mind’s eye.  I’ve gotten better about recognizing Spirit when it’s yelling at you so I described to her what I was getting.   She agreed to go with the reading as I described it and the session was very successful.  Later, I sat down with a notebook, some meditation and more information came to light.  During that meditation, a triskelion appeared in my mind’s eye and superimposed itself over the card layout.

This spread works the best when you have three distinct areas in your life that you want to cover and discuss, all at the same time.  It also works for a general reading if you simply name Mind, Body and Spirit as the three points of the question.  You could also, of course, use any other terms or spheres that feel comfortable to you.  Other examples could be health, career and romance or family, spirit and friends.  The three areas are completely open for the reader and the querent to decide.  Use your intuition and have some fun!

The Triskelion Spread

Total cards for the reading: 7 for short reading (see below).  10 for full reading

Decide which three areas or questions in your life you wish to cover.  I typically prefer a balanced placement of the three branches but you can decide on a more upright pyramid style with one branch on top to signify an area of much more focus or importance to you or the querent.  Feel free to place the branches any way your intuition tells you.  Just make sure you decide ahead of time and communicate it clearly before starting the reading.

1.) Lay out three initial cards in 1,2 and 3; one for each area or sphere you are focusing on.   During the reading, this is what I call the initial commentary, the overall wisdom that Spirit would like for you to know about and focus on regarding that aspect of your life.  It encapsulates the past and the present.

2.) Lay out three more cards in 4,5 and 6.  During the reading treat this as commentary and advice on “next steps”, things to be aware of, watch out for and, in essence, how to move forward in a beneficial manner.  These cards link directly to the first round of cards and talk about how things will progress in each of those spheres.

Note – You CAN stop here with the reading if time is short or you are comfortable with the information given.  If stopping here then move to Step 4.

3.) A third round of cards go down in positions A, B and C and once the reading starts create an extra level or lens in which to look at the overall problem or question.  These cards, in essence, interlink with cards 1, 2 and 3 and show how those spheres interact.  How does each sphere help or hinder another sphere in the querent’s life?

For example – Let us say one sphere is the client’s health and the other is career.  In an extreme example, let’s say the Tower card comes down in this third round between the two.  This tells us that the two spheres are about to go through a major breakdown of traditional roles or beliefs.  Whether the career is about to cause a health issue or a health issue will be causing a career change will have to be determined by the surrounding cards in the spread as well as the reader’s intuitive abilities.

4.) Final card.  This is a final card that is placed in the direct center of the reading and should be read last.  It represents an overall commentary as to where things are heading as a whole.  It’s a final punctuation to the reading and ties the three branches together.  A final word, if you will, from the Universe.

Reading the Spread

In reading the cards simply read them as you have placed them.  You may turn them individually as you go or turn them all over at once and go for it.  This is up to you and your particular style.

First go through 1 – 3, then 4-6.  Spend some time looking at each branch individually, analyzing the cards and what they are saying.  Then, go through A-C and interconnect them to 1 -3.  Look for connections, relationships, warnings and advice.

Finally, read the final 10 card and see how it ties the reading together.  It will offer a large scale overhead view of the three branches and the client’s current situation.

Note, this reading with all 10 cards can offer a fairly complex analysis with lots of interaction and information.  A full reading with this spread can easily take an hour.  Make sure you have the time and energy available to get all the way through it.

I hope this is helpful to you and I’d love commentary on your thoughts.

The next post will be an example of a full reading with a video to help show how it all works!

Walls and Categories

Just a quick update and some post-solstice musings.  I’ve spend the past few weeks moving at an incredibly high rate of speed.  Besides the action packed life of an unemployed father and the daily doings that go along with it, I’ve been very focused on not only my spirituality and my energy work but how that coincides with my oracle practice.  The most important thought I managed to think in all of it was a very simple one.

You can’t separate them.

Yet, I think a lot of us do it all the time.  We place a barrier, some thin as paper and others as thick as bunker walls, between our spiritual life, our energetic condition on the planet, and our physical daily life.  It’s the static that comes when we divide our suit of Cups from our suit of Pentacles by overworking our suit of Swords and Wands.  The thicker the wall, the more the static.   As I’ve decided to be more open about all of this in my daily life, I’ve found that I cannot even consider going back to those thicker divisions I once operated under.  Matter of fact, the more open I am about what I believe, feel and, on occasion, see, the more those walls turn to paper or even mist.  The more those walls disintegrate the more clearer come the messages from Spirit which, in turn, helps to bring the walls down.

How do you separate your everyday life from that of your spiritual, magical one?

On The Missing

I’ve been interested in using my abilities to help guide and locate missing people for some time.  My largest frustration was not having a place to really communicate with others who also felt my zeal for “psychic detective work.”  I operated quietly and practiced readings and map dowsing on cases that came to my attention while following the outcome on forum boards like Websleuths.com.  I did have small successes and I simply continued to practice.

Earlier this month, a young lady went missing in the town I’m proud to call home.  Her case has drawn national level attention and the mysteries behind it are very convoluted.  A few days after her case, when it was obvious this was not going to be a simple runaway or miscommunication, I felt compelled to do a reading to see if I could get more information.  Immediately after the reading, I took a few moments to meditate quietly and was shocked with a brief but powerful vision.  It was this point that, for me, the journey really began.