Weekly Navigation

Just a short update.  I’ve been working on a post that has proven more difficult than I first imagined.  It will be coming along shortly.

For now, I thought I’d cover what I do every week with my Tarot cards.  Every Sunday or at the latest, Monday morning I draw three cards which are roughly divided up as Early, Mid, and Late in the week.  These split down the week as you might imagine.  I post this spread across the top of my daily journal for the week so I see it every day.

Early = Sunday evening through Tuesday.
Mid = Late Tuesday evening through  Thursday.
Late = Friday morning and through the weekend.

To me, these cards form a navigational chart on how best to sail through both the calm and rough waters.  If I see a trouble card coming up I will frequently draw another card or two to help me clarify.  Occasionally, I will do a whole other reading.  Two weeks ago I had the 5 of Pentacles appear for the end of my week.  Concerned about it, I did an entire reading on how I could avoid the effects of that card.  It worked perfectly and instead of an exhausting, expensive weekend I was able to plot a course around it.  Worked like a charm!

My cards this week:

This week I drew the 8 of Pentacles, The Hanged Man and The Universe (or The World.)  The 8 of Pentacles has been absolutely perfect since, as I mentioned, I’m very much bent over this upcoming post which has taken me at least 4 attempts to get it going and several other projects I care very deeply about.

The Hanged Man has me a little more than curious about what’s coming around the corner.  A time when it will be best to do nothing.  Winning by surrendering.  Not pushing forward and simply hanging, upside down if necessary.

The bonus being, of course, is that I am looking at a fairly amazing weekend with the World card waiting for me.  Since there are quite a few fun things on tap for the weekend, I’m going to let this one sort itself out on its own.  Can’t wait to see what it brings!

As a final touch, I will sometimes draw a card every morning to sort of focus in on the particular day I’m facing.  Some days I don’t do it.  It’s purely a gut move.  I draw from whichever deck feels right.  Sometimes it’s another Llewellyn card, other days it might be the Faeries Oracle.  I’ve even gone off the beaten path and drawn a card from an I-Ching deck I have.  I combine this with the weekly navigation card and get an excellent feel for my day ahead.

Today I drew the 10 of Wands.  I’m combining this with my 6 of Pentacles and maybe just a hint of the Hanged man for what is turning out to me a very work filled day, perhaps even a little overburdened.  Just in time for the Hanged Man tomorrow!  Yay?

If you don’t do a weekly spread, give it a try.   Much like a treasured map of rapid filled waters, you might like the reflection and awareness it gives you.

A Midsummer’s Dowsing: Epilogue

If you’ve made it this far with my postings you should know by now I see the world a bit differently then others.  Hence the title of the blog.   If you had any doubt up to this point I’m sure this one will confirm it for you!

If this is your first time here I highly recommend you read Part One and Part Two of this tale before trekking onward.

Knowing I needed to submit my apologies in person, I ventured out two days post Solstice in the thickest heat of the day.  The temperature was around 90 degrees and the humidity was like soup.  Overall, the heat index was up around 105.  Good weather for doing penance!  The other deciding factor in going was it would mark exactly two days post Solstice.  Since I had committed my offense two days before Solstice I was hoping I would have a little symmetry on my side.

Getting home from work, I scrambled to get a few supplies together.  My main focus? Taking the little LED light and getting it fancied up properly.  Stringing it to some homemade cordage I had made from dried lily leaves, I added several beads from my collection and topped it all off with a small crystal I had found in a nearby creek.  Added to my apology package was a package of plain tobacco, a package of cornmeal/tobacco mix, and a combination I had made in a ziploc bag of bran Cheerios, graham crackers, and organic turbinado sugar.   The final touch to the Cheerios combination was a packet of local clover honey.

When I arrived in the park the heat of the day had driven everyone off.  The parking lot, surrounding fields and running paths were empty.  I literally had the park to myself.  I set off quickly down the mowed path and into the woods.  Coming to the southern entrance to Grandmother Tulip I paid my respects and asked if I could enter with the dowsing rods handy.  With an affirmative from her, I did so and thus began my apology.

I will spare you my lamentations.  Once finished I asked where they would like for me to hang their first gift.  The rods were a little slow to respond and I got the sense there was a very important decision being made.  More on this in a bit.  Up to this point the rods had been solid and fast moving but suddenly, they slowed.  I waited patiently and repeated my question a few times while some mosquitoes tried to get an afternoon meal off my neck.  After a few twitches they swung in a particular direction.  I double checked.  I double checked because it was pointing me in the same direction as the question I asked when I was here last, “Is there a place for the Fey nearby?

It felt as if an invitation had finally been agreed upon.

I followed the rods.  They took me west of the tree through the woods and towards a dead cedar tree broken in half by some past storm.  A trunk about 8 feet high still remained with sharp branch spars sticking off in all direction.  The rods slowly swung to one of the spars which I confirmed with a follow-up question and that is where I placed their gift.

I asked them where to place the food.  The rods swung me around and I had to pause as I suddenly realized I was in an uneven circle of trees.  I was in a rough circle with a clear definition between wooded and clear area.  The rods spun and fixed solid to an area near the center.  I walked there and as they crossed I looked down.  I think I may have gasped.

There near the center stood a small holly plant!  If nothing which had occurred before over the past several days to convince me I was dealing with something out of the norm this alone would have done it.

“This,” I said out loud,” This is awesome.”

I placed the food where directed and drizzled the honey.  I then moved on to where to place the tobacco and corn meal.  This was, interestingly enough, on the south side of the circle near another narrow broken cedar.  I did that as well, following the rods directions.

Once finished, I relaxed, brought up the rods and we had a little chat that I will keep to myself for now.  I did get permission to come back to the circle which was very good to hear, or, well, see since I was looking at crossed dowsing rods.  I asked if there was a particular exit point and was pointed to the northern rim of the circle where, of course, sat another broken tree.  I asked for an entrance point.

Again I got that sense of a “discussion” taking place as if the idea of me using the exit was fine but to show me the actual entrance was another thing altogether!  Finally, the rods slowly swung around to the southern dead trunk where I had placed the tobacco.  The downside was that part of the circle was covered in brambles, fallen limbs, poison ivy and, generally, a mess.  Good to protect an entrance, bad if you want to come in that way.  They seemed to find that funny.

Two physical things occurred during this time.  I had to leave the circle at one point to get my camera which  had been left off the trail and by Grandmother Tulip.  As I clambered through the brush and brambles of the entrance point I suddenly felt a small nudge on my left.  At least that is what it felt like to me at the time.  I’m sure it was just my foot getting caught on brush, right?  Regardless, the effect was that I started to fall to my right which, in turn, caused me to reach out and get support on the standing deadwood trunk which marked the entrance point.

The one covered by poison ivy.

Realizing I had my right hand in very green and vibrant poison ivy, I retracted it quickly.  I also chuckled because, well, I found it funny.  I’m odd like that.

“Ok.  You got me on that one,” I said out loud as poured water from my water bottle on my hand and thoroughly wiped my right hand on my jeans leg.   If I had to put into words the response I felt from them it was a very non-cruel, matter-of-fact, “Now, your penance is done.”

Jeez, some of these boys play rough!

Regardless of the poison ivy incident, I did feel quite honored to be shown the circle.  I stayed a bit longer, took a few pics and then noticed the second physical thing to happen.  I was starting to feel a bit dizzy, lightheaded.  I had not felt this way when coming into the circle blind.  Was this now because I had used the “real” entrance or was I reading too much into everything?  The first idea that something was wrong was when I suddenly had that “turned around” feeling and from within the circle could not pinpoint the Grandmother Tree.  I was starting to feel dizzy like one does if they haven’t eaten or are too tired.  I was well rested, had water and had eaten before leaving the house.

With everything being ruled out, I knew that particular sense of disorientation is not normal for me.  I immediately started moving for the exit point.  Once there, I asked if I could return in the future and was given a yes.  Politely saying my goodbyes, I excused myself and left the circle with a small bow.  I paid a final visit to the tulip tree, saying my goodbyes as well.  I was still feeling a bit “noodle-legged” over everything and as I stood outside the circle the familiar sense of “it was all a dream” started to play over my awareness.    I grounded myself down and placed both hands on the tulip tree.  I was better in a few quick minutes.

I left the tulip’s nemeton to the south as instructed and enjoyed a peaceful stroll through the woods and then back to my car.  I also took  time to review everything that had happened, pausing occasionally to make notes.  I knew that if I did not things would get hazy and hard to recollect the further I got away from the area.  “It really didn’t happen that way,” starts to become the mental response.  One feeling that I wanted to record was that through the whole experience since I’d entered the space I kept having a feeling of being “judged.”  Perhaps that was my subconscious talking, perhaps it was not.

It’s very hard to describe but I felt there were two camps.  One camp was a bit more easy going and willing to take me at face value as someone who “might” just know what they were doing.  They were happy to see me and there was a constant sense of “zipping about.”  The other camp was much more conservative, grumpier and was having a harder time trusting me.  It felt that by bringing gifts I had set them back a bit and they were forced, by some sacred law, to accept them and, by default, me.

It seemed that this might have been the reason I felt there were “discussions” going on between them from time to time and why the rods would suddenly go very still, as if a discussion over the proper response back to me was being deliberated.  Oddly enough, I also felt, VERY STRONGLY, this was not something to discuss with questions and the dowsing rods at the time.  It would have been an insult.  Of this I was intensely certain.

On the poison ivy – all the way back I was very careful with my right hand and my right pant’s leg, making sure not to touch anything else.  Poison ivy causes it’s reaction from the oil that gets on the skin and clothing it touches. If you’re careful with where that oil is you can control it.  If you can wipe that oil off on a fabric and then contain that fabric it’s even better.  If you can wash the oil off with soap, water (or one of the commercially made products to do it specifically) and cool water within an hour or two then you should be in good shape.   As an added bonus, hit it with rubbing alcohol.  Once home, I did all of these things immediately and have not seen the first blister.

Besides the poison ivy, I felt the entire thing had gone amazingly well.  Penance served, apology accepted and, between I and this little magical spot all was well again.  My thoughts still keep filtering back to that holly plant and how amazing it was to find it there.  What were the odds?

The Inspiration of a Full Moon Eclipse

So, this morning was a big deal.  You’ve got a lot happening up in the stars today and although I am a mere adept when it comes to such things I do pay very close attention to what the experts say about it all.  Astrology is such a complex and deep subject its mainly a matter of time for me.  I do pay careful attention to the moon cycles however and over the years I am picking the other information up.  It’s just not my main focus.

Whats going on upstairs? Well, it’s already happened but from what I understand you can still ride the wave from the energy for a few days.  The big deal is that we just had a lunar full moon eclipse.

Here’s the skinny from a site I’ve been going to for years Skywatch Publications:

“A Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse follows at 6:30AM. The tides and our emotions rise as this powerful opposition of the Sun and Moon appears in the heavens. Moreover, this is an Eclipse which suggests a time of high destiny—events that occur now have significant future potential. And note that Pluto is exactly conjunct this Full Moon in Capricorn.”

I’d been hearing about the eclipse and the important markers it would make for some time.  Most astrology blogs and pages have been mentioning and discussing it.  What did I do about it?  I decided to just pay attention.

Here’s what happened – I woke up eight minutes before the eclipse.  (A bit later then I had planned.) The first thought, the VERY first thought that shot through my waking mind was “You need to start your photo blog.”  Waking up and thumping upstairs to make coffee, it would not leave me alone.   I paused as the eclipse moment happened and quietly just attuned to it while saying a simple thank you.

Taking our wonderful little terror of a puppy out for his morning walk two minutes later I stepped outside.  A few strides further brought me into view of our beautiful neighborhood pond.  What should be standing there but a magnificent Blue Heron!

I’d wanted to get a blue heron shot for some time and the timing of the whole affair was not lost to me.  I hurried our puppy as much as you can hurry a little fireball of a puppy and then scrambled back home for my camera.  I was able to get off a few shots before my camera battery died.

Seizing the moment, I spoke to my wife over breakfast and she gave me the perfect name for the blog.  Everything fell together and I spent the rest of the morning getting things launched.

If you have the time, head on over and give “Light Balance” a look-see.  It’s my new photo blog and will be featuring the wide range of my photography and some of my other artsy bits along the way.

And, if not, no worries!  Stay right here and there will be more tales of magic, paranormal, and nature spirit craziness shortly.

A Midsummer’s Dowsing, Part Two

–The tale continues!  This is part two of a two section post regarding my small adventure dowsing an old tree I’d discovered last year and an unexpected encounter.  It’s also a tale of what not to do.  Or, more specifically, what not to forget!  Read on, gentle traveler.   For Part One you may click HERE. –

After wrapping up the work and finding my way out, I strolled along the mowed path back to my car.  I was surprised to see an indigo bunting fly in from my left and land on a nearby tree.  It would make the second time I had seen a bunting after doing dowsing work.  Coincidence?  I went for my camera and, of course, as soon as I got my telephoto in place and nearly on him, he flew off and disappeared.   It would also make the second time I’d seen a bunting and not been able to photograph it.

I laughed at all of it and continued on feeling very very good.  The day was warm but most of the path was tucked up next to the tree line and in the shade.  Over near the parking lot the BBQ was still going on but as far as my path and the grassy field, I was by myself.  I stopped a few times just to feel the warmth and to watch the clouds slide along.  It was good to feel connected.

I got to my car and made the short drive home.  I arrived just in time to get a shower and get ready for my next adventure of the day/evening.  My wife arrived and we were about to leave.  Grabbing my daypack for the next adventure something caught me as unusual.  Normally, my L-Rods would stick out slightly from the top of the pack.

I didn’t see them.

I didn’t see them because they weren’t in the pack.  The search began.  I checked everywhere.  In the car, in the house, in the pack (thrice!).  We had a little bit of time so, thinking they had fallen out (unlikely) during my scramble to get to my telephoto lens when the bunting had arrived, I dashed back to the park.  Using my pendulum I got a reading they were back along the mowed path.  So, off I went retracing my steps to the last known place I had seen my rods and placed them in the pack.  HAH-HA!  Not a problem!

They weren’t there.

Using my big, thick, human brain I decided to try the pendulum again and this time it said the L-Rods were back towards my car.  I narrowed my eyes and headed back towards my car where, of course, the L-Rods were not.  Using the pendulum one more time in the parking lot I got a reading they were back towards the woods.  I knew better then to follow it.  I looked around the parking lot and along the road as I drove back to my house.  When I dowsed their location again at my house I got a good direct line pack towards the park.

So, it was going to be like that, eh?

The L-Rods were not to be found.   I knew where I had seen them last and from that point forward they were nowhere to be seen.  Gone.  This had happened to me one other time before.  When it had happened the last time there had been one suspicious and similar element.

The Fey.

I had been in Scotland on a three week long camping/wandering trip.  It was one of the most magical and amazing trips of my life.  I had not been properly introduced to the Fey at this point and, quite honestly, didn’t buy into them.  They were a lark, a fancy.  A “maybe they do/maybe they don’t” sort of whispy concoction in my brain.  I was sitting on the edge of a loch and was about to take a picture of the landscape.  The day was still, only the lightest of breezes.  I carefully took my lens cap off and placed it, very directly, on a nearby stone.  It’s a habit of mine that I look very carefully and affix things like that when I set them down.  Besides, I was only taking two shots.  I took the pictures, click, click. No more than fifteen seconds go by.   I reached back for the lens cap…

Poof.  It was gone.  Completely gone.  I searched in a huge circle and amongst my clothes and belongings but to no avail.  After I got my brain around what had happened I thought, “Well, I guess they needed a sled.” I told them out loud to enjoy it and I went back to the car.  I also became a bit more of a believer.

Later in my trip I purchased a lens cap (which I did not lose, thank you.)  Two weeks later I was cleaning out the rental car and getting ready for the trip back to London and the flight home.  I’d stopped by a stone circle and was rearranging my pack, getting everything into one large cargo bag, and cleaning out all the trash in the car.  Once done, I spent some time in the circle, said my goodbyes and then got in the car to go.

As I sat down, the old camera lens was on the floorboard of the car.

Let’s not forget I cleaned the car which includes, yes, underneath the seats and floorboards.  Yeah.

In reality, I felt sort of blessed by the whole event.  I still do!  After I recovered, I left the new lens cap I had purchased on a rock near the stone circle and shared a laugh with them.  “For the winter,” I proclaimed.  The two weeks prior had been full of their shenanigans and by that point we had become close friends.  A long way from the person I had been when I had arrived on their shores.   With a deep sense of sadness I left to come home.

Back to the present, I was not feeling blessed.  The problem I had was I had planned on using my L-rods for the next little adventure of the evening; dowsing a sacred place for energies prior to a celebratory bonfire.  It was going to be hard to do without them.  Luckily, I avoided a quick run to the hardware store and found a wonderful substitute in my garage that, in the long run, actually began working smoother than my old L-rods.  This was a nice blessing in disguise.

While working around the Grandmother, the camera went off by itself. This was the shot it took...

However, I kept asking myself, why did my old, large l-rods disappear like that?  I’d come a long way since those first encounters with the Fey.  I could not figure where I’d gone wrong.  And, if the Fey had taken them, why had they done so?  I had been respectful.  I had been nice.  As always I had tried at every step to be mindful of not only the spirits around me, the tree but also the Fey.  In truth, (and in my hubris) I was a bit peeved that they would nick my rods like that.

I went on my merry way with my wife to the next event, a wonderful bonfire gathering in the woods with its own fair share of dowsing adventure.   During which, in moonlight, it hit me.  It smacked me across the face like a faery wielding a thistle rod.

The small purple flashing LED light that I had taken off the path! The light that had made me think of faery lights.  The one I had not given to the tree or left behind as a gift!  A gift.  I had, in fact, walked off with it.  In my excitement around the tree I had forgotten all about it.  I had left a crystal but that was all.

I had left nothing for the Fey.

In my mind, I could also see me questioning myself.  “Let me get this straight.  Two days before Summer Solstice you left a gift for Grandmother Tulip but even though you asked them particular questions, dowsed their whereabouts, you didn’t think to leave them a Gift?  Not even a rock or a bit of something out of your pocket?  On the Solstice???”

I was lucky they’d not turned my head into that of an ass!  Egad, maybe they have and I don’t know it!  Perhaps everyone around me is just being polite?  Should I change my name to Bottom?  Oh, I will need to fix this post haste.

So, gentle reader, this is my tale.  Learn from it and know that, should you suddenly be drawn to magical places and find yourself in a faery wood, gifts are always welcome and should be shared abundantly.   They may also be mandatory.  One should never be so haughty as to be unable to  bend a knee and ask forgiveness for any slight given, no matter how small.

Also, never let it be said that the Fey have an unbalanced sense of Justice.

Of course, apologies have been given and I am in the process of fashioning the blinking light into a very nice gift.  I’ll be headed out there in the next few days to leave it as well as a few other gifts and offer more formal apologies.   I’ll update as I can.

If nothing else perhaps this sudden craving for hay will go away soon?

A Midsummer’s Dowsing, Part One

–This is part one of a two part post featuring my dowsing work with a very old tree a few days before Summer Solstice.  A tale of forests, brambles, magic and hubris. –

During a session dowsing for earth energies last year, I was given the location of a smaller power spot in a public park not too far from my house.   The park is well used and I had to do that session in the early hours of a cold Sunday morning.  I did find a small power spot with a minor line running through it as well.  At the end of that session, I asked, “Is there anything else you want to show me?” and received a very strong yes.

My pendulum had led me clear to the other side of the park and into a long strip of thick woods that ran along the western perimeter of the park.  As I followed, it took me in a direct line to a massive tulip tree, one of the largest I’ve ever seen.   I was running out of time when this happened so I made my greeting, my thanks and headed back home a little swirly and stunned by the whole encounter.

Nearly a year later and brandishing my shiny copper rods this time, I made it back over the Solstice weekend.

Most of Indiana was heavily logged during it’s settlement and its only been in the past 50 to 60 years or less that areas have been allowed to grow back.  Through the State and National parks system as well as a very good City Park system, large sections of area that used to be farmland have returned to a natural state.

Occasionally, you can still find an old ancient tree that a farmer spared either for decoration or because it offered shade for his livestock or for himself.  Because of this it’s always special to come across an older historic tree.  One of the things I’ve wanted to start doing with the dowsing work is to find and catalog some of these older trees in the area.  I also wanted to see what energy lines or patterns I could pick up around these older trees and I wanted to use the tulip as my first “subject.”

The weather here lately is about two to three weeks ahead of schedule.  (I noticed this in the early Spring when the migratory birds began showing up two weeks or more ahead of schedule.)  The days are hot and humid.  The thunderstorms have been strong and violent.  Temps coast upwards to 90 degrees with a standard 80% humidity.  Typical weather in Indiana if it were July or August but not really June.  Saturday afternoon was no exception with the forecast being humid with a possibility of bug bites, poison ivy blisters and heat exhaustion.

I only had a small window of a few hours to do things so I dashed to my car with my trusty daypack and camera bag and drove to the park a short distance away.  The place was crowded with a BBQ in session, walkers/runners, and folks enjoying the weather.  (Yes, there are people that like to run in this weather.   And they think I’m weird for having some dowsing rods!!!)   Since it had been a year, I couldn’t remember exactly where the tree was located and had a small fear of pushing through the brambles and undergrowth for two hours and never finding it again.  Getting out of sight from all those “normal” souls, I pulled out the rods and immediately got a solid lock on the direction.  The next challenge was finding a place in the tree line where I could easily enter.  Again, most of the woods and forests in my area are relatively young so the undergrowth can be a bit daunting at times.  Again, the rods gave me a direction, I followed and sure enough, they led me to a deer/game trail coming out of the woods between two thick bramble bushes.  In I went!

Once in the shade of the trees, things were more comfortable though still humid.  Mosquitoes were, thankfully, few and far between.  I was also screened from curious eyes and felt a bit more comfortable working with the rods.  I had gone into the woods a bit north of my target so I began moving southward.   I eventually found a game trail that helped me navigate the brambles a bit better.   Since storms had pounded our area for the past several days in a row, the going was a bit muddy and treacherous.  I took occasional readings with the rods and they unerringly kept pointing to the same spot to the south.  I slogged onward, following animal paths as I could.

Going down a narrow game trail, I had to pause as an odd color caught my eye; purple.  I knelt down and saw a small cylindrical object maybe half an inch long.  I pulled out of the mud what I, at first, thought was a small spindle of purple thread.

Turned out it was something a bit more than that.  I’m not sure what you would call it but after pushing a small black button on the side it began flashing green and purple LED lights.

What a great find!  A child’s toy?  Part of a keychain?  Had it been carried here by a curious raccoon?  Rain? Something else?  I had the fleeting thought I could use this as a possible gift to the tree when I found it.  (Trust me, this is important to remember for later.)

Moving on, I continued to follow the rods and sure enough, they took me directly to the tree.  It really is a spectacular site to see it standing in a forest of thinner, more common ones.  I felt the same wave of awe and respect wash over me as when I first saw it.  Asking if I could approach I got a solid “Yes.”  I also asked if I could do some dowsing work and received another positive.  I snapped away with my digital camera but the only way I could find to really show the scale was to place my backpack at its base.  After doing that, I placed my equipment further away and got to work.

One of the first questions I asked was, “When I return is there a direction you would prefer to be approached from?  An entrance area, so to speak?”  I was led to a spot about 35 feet away to the south and, interestingly enough, a narrow trail.   I then began to dowse for the trees nemeton, an area of energy influence or aura.  (Thanks again to the Hedge Druid for introducing me to the term.)

I will typically use my own stride  to measure out a distance if I do not have any other way to do it.   This was a little more difficult as the scrub and terrain got in the way.  By careful choice of angles that offered me the easiest path to the tree, I was able to get a very solid and circular reading of roughly 30 feet out from the trunk.  (Notice that the spot to respectfully enter to the south was roughly three to five feet outside the nemeton.)

Moving closer to the tree’s trunk, I continued asking questions and dowsing the answers with the rods.  The tree was female and I asked if it was alright to call her “Grandmother.”  It was.  Following an idea I had read somewhere I dowsed her age.  I first asked if she was over 100 years old.  Yes.  Over 125?  Yes.  130?  Yes.  This continued and she was over 150 years old.  I did not press more for an actual date. Tulip trees are known for being long lived.  Regardless, it meant she had been planted or grown sometime before 1860 and quite possibly could have been old enough to have seen the first settlers to the area in the late 1700/early 1800′s.  Stopping to think about that alone was enough to entertain my brain for hours.  What did this area look like over a hundred years ago?  Over 150?  Was it a farm?  Was it a wood?  I will have to attempt a dowsing of her age next time I go back.  If she proves to be one of the original ones from that time it will open up a whole new line of thought.  Should I point her out to a historical society?  The county?  Can a tree receive a “protected” status and/or would that just bring more “traffic” to an area that is, at this point, completely unknown.

I then went on to ask if there were any energy lines coming off the tree and if they were male or female?  I was told there was one male line, one female.  I was led to the strongest female line which went northward around 6-7 feet, drifted down and towards a carved cut in the ground by a small rivulet of a creek.  Passing under the small rivulet, it then twisted around and finished in a spiral underneath a thick stand of grapevine, brambles and scrub.  I then asked for the strongest male line and was pointed westward.  I picked up that line and it extended about the same distance away perhaps a little longer but then spiraled in a wide, open space.  With a smile, I realized this space would get the most sun later in the day, a perfect spot for sun/male energy.

Having received the information I wanted the most, I put the rods down and spent some quiet time under her branches and leaning against her strength.  Finishing that connection and inwardly knowing I was running out of time, I asked if there was anything else she wanted to show me.  I find this question can lead to many surprises and should not be ignored.  The rods turned to the east and I was led to another older tulip tree, but not as old or as large as she was, just outside her nemeton.  As I looked, I saw there were at least three other tulip trees in that area, all of them well over 50 years old.  Her children.  She pointed me to one in particular which turned out to have a male energy, her son, and I said my hellos.

I then revealed that I had a small gift in the form of a crystal which I had brought from home.  I asked for her to show me where it would do the most good.  The rods spun a bit and I was shown a spot approximately five feet out from her trunk and in a direct line with the younger male tree I had just been pointed to.  I cleared the brush away and placed the crystal carefully.

Finishing up and already feeling their presence since I came into the treeline, I decided to venture a little further into the unknown (or perhaps otherwise known as the “silly unknown.”)  I asked the following questions that I had felt to ask.

• Are there any Fey about this area? Yes.
  (I use the term Fey to designate Nature Spirits of all shapes and sizes.  I’ll be focusing on this in the very near future.)
• Is this tree a special place for them?  Slight yes.
• Perhaps a meeting place?  Yes.
• Are they around right now?  Yes.
• Is there a place for them nearby?  Yes.
• Could I come back and be shown that place?  Yes
• Would it be rude of me to do so?  No

At this point I asked the rods to show me the direction and got a very strong and solid hit.  I marked it down for a project in the future.  And, yes, this is important to remember for the end of my little tale of hubris.

I dowsed if I was on schedule with my time and got an affirmative but only if I left immediately.  I wrapped up my work, said a very special thank you to the Grandmother and then gathered my things.  As an afterthought I asked, “Is there a direction that would be the best for me to leave from?”  I was shown the same game trail that was to be used as the entrance.  I bowed a final time and with a smile on my face headed down the game trail.

Sure enough, it found a wider trail a little further along which, in a few hundred feet, put me out of the treeline and on a mowed grass path back to the parking lot.  I placed the rods back into my daypack and walked out.  The going out was much easier than the going in!  Mission Accomplished!

Or so I thought…

Oil Spill Commentary from the Tarot

After my early morning round of healing for the Gulf today I drew a card.  I drew a card when we started the work on Saturday morning.  The first card from Saturday was the Five of Cups.  I found it striking and clear as to it’s message

5 of Cups – Loss.  Regret. Loss that initiates change.  Losing hope and moving away.  Turning around from a horrible situation to find two full cups.

Is the Gulf situation without hope?  Is  it time to let go of the grief and the tragedy and move on to resolution?   The damage is completely out of control and becoming worse.  Is it time to look beyond what has happened and begin to prevent what could happen on the global scale?  I also took note of the far away building (city) and the dark gook around the fallen and spilled cups.  Two of the cups look as if they have spilled towards the river/water.  Perhaps I am ever hopeful but I was drawn to the two cups behind the person, standing upright but ignored.  There is a way out of this.  There is something being ignored as we only focus on our grief, anger and resentment.

This Solstice morning after performing the round I asked, “What is the outcome of the energy work towards the Gulf on this Solstice?”

The Tower.   Transformative down to the bare bones change.  Old foundations and ways of being, once strong in their stone walls, were about to be hit by lightning and awash with water.  Water again.  Shocking transformation and upheaval.  A wake up call of immense proportions.

The card is not meant for anyone that is already aware of the horrible system collapse we are about to see.  It is for the ones that, for so long, felt untouchable in their castles and towers.  Whatever comes next… that Tower card is for them.  If you look on the Tower card and say, “Well, that couldn’t possibly mean me,” then your time and world, as you know it, are limited.

The shake-up indicated by the Tower is something that perhaps none of us will see coming.  For Americans and the world to change their thinking over fossil fuel would take something on par with a world class disaster.  The habits, profits and thinking are already grilled into almost three generations.  The pathways have been burned in and the entire infrastructure is built upon it.  It would take something on par with the Tower to REALLY change things.  Is this it?

We will just have to wait and see where the lightning bolts strike.

I will continue to draw cards on this as we go through each day.  I’ll post them here as I can.

What are your thoughts?

Prayers for the Gulf

I’m very sorry to get this posted much later then I would have liked…

I’ve started a Facebook group whose focus and goal is to send a scheduled series of healing energy and prayers to the Gulf for five days over the Solstice.

You can find it here : Prayers and Energy for the Gulf

Today we begin by sending at least five minutes of prayer, light and healing to the Gulf coast area.  We are asking for protection, healing and, most importantly, a beginning to a resolution. We are doing this in synch with sunrise over the Gulf which is 6 AM Central Daylight Time.  (11 AM GMT/UTC)

Tomorrow we will do the same.

On the Solstice we will have three rounds, one at sunrise, one at solar noon and one at sunset.  The times are listed on the Facebook page and in the discussion board there.

Two days following Solstice, we will return to morning sessions.

This quest is open to anyone and everyone as long as their only intention is to bring beneficial healing energies to the tragedy.  There will be a bit more on the Facebook page as I can post.

My sincerest apologies for the lateness of the announcement.  Join us if you can, spread the word and do whatever you can.

Thank you!

The Universe at Work / My New Tarot Deck

So, even though the Intuitive Tarot was basically placed in my hand for fifty cents, I’ve been having a hard time jiving with it.  I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to be doing with it but I am sure it’s not supposed to be my personal deck.  The same goes for the Stella Tarot I’ve mentioned here as well.  I do like working with the Stella but, again, there still wasn’t a deep link to it.  I knew it was out there but it’s been a long time since I found a deck that meshed a hundred percent with me.

Now more then ever before you can surf the internet and see tons of images for cards, get reviews, etc.  Over the past two weeks I had a small list of three that “looked” like a good fit but I was continuing to shop.  Wandering over to a nearby bookstore in search of another journal I happened to notice they had restocked the tarot section.  Interestingly enough, some of the decks I was leaning towards were actually on the shelf.  That was all well and good but there was a problem.  The budget has been very tight and I wasn’t sure I could justify a deck.

Enter my financial adviser who also is no slouch in the realm of energy work (otherwise known as my amazing wife.)  I gently discussed this with her on Sunday and informed her it wasn’t “that big of a deal but if we have a little extra I would love it.”  She said she would “take a look at the books.”

This is the point where things started to click forward with the unstoppable precision of the Universe building a Rube Goldberg device.

My wife handed me a piece of paper and said, “Well, I almost forgot but there’s this.”

I looked at what she handed me which was a 40% off coupon for the bookstore.  I laughed, “Is it still good?”

It expires today,” she said with a grin.

End scene and roughly thirty minutes later we are headed for the bookstore.

While there I showed her the three I had chosen and we were discussing the merits of each of them.  We had it narrowed down to one deck that although not a perfect match, I was pleased with for the most part.

I had just turned to go when she said, “It’s opened but what about this one?”

Looking over I saw she had found a boxed set of cards with no shrinkwrap.  She took this as a sign and immediately opened it up to look at the cards.  “Do you care that it’s opened?” she asked.  I leaned over and looked at the cards as she started to go through them.  They were beautiful.

I said as much and added, “These, uh, these weren’t here before.”

“Do you care they’re open?”

“I don’t care if they’re open as long as they’re all there,” I said.  “I can take care of any other “problem” with them.”  (And by “problem” I meant energy gunk or residue.  They’re just cardboard cards after all, right? *wink* )

She handed them to me with a strong gesture and said, “If they’re all there, these are them.”  Giving me a dazzling smile that denied any argument she started looking at the shelves again, “Count them and make sure they’re all there.”

I counted them and looked at the art.   They were all there.  I was so pleased and for the first time I could feel such a solid connection with the images.  The cards were absolutely gorgeous and the imagery synced up nicely.

Then, of course, my wife suddenly chimed in again with another opinion. “Ohhhhhhhhhhh,” was all she said.

I looked over and realized she was, yet again, about to hand me something.

She had in her hand the new Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.  We owned a few signed prints of the cards but had not seen the deck out in the wild before.  We discussed how beautiful it was and how happy we were to see it.  “Well,” she handed me the box, “the first one you have feels more like you but, it’s you’re call.”  Knowing she was leaving me with a tough choice she grinned at me and strolled away to another section.  I think she would have skipped along merrily if it had occurred to her.

How do these things happen?  How did I get from struggling to find a simple single tarot deck that might work to holding two boxed sets that contain exactly what I need?

I set the boxed sets on a shelf in the nearby photography section.  (If you only knew how hilarious THAT was…) I cleared my head, quieted and did a bit of deviceless dowsing with them.  I asked a few simple questions, “Which deck was the deck I was supposed to buy?”  “Which deck was the best connection for me right now?”  Then, I just gently reached out for an answer.

The pulse went up my arm, bulged a bit in my neck, and then washed over my skull.  It was one of the strongest answers I’ve ever received.  I physically reacted.  “Well,” I muttered, “that’s cleared up.”  I placed one back on the shelf, grabbed my new deck and met my wife in the humor section.  She looked at the deck in my hand and then at me.

“Got the answer.  Rather forcefully, actually.  This one is mine.  The Shadowscapes Tarot is yours.  We’ll come back for it as soon as possible.”

She started to make some comment about not reading the tarot, money and tight budgets.  I ignored her and showed her a funny cartoon book.  We laughed at that for a bit and then, purchasing the deck, we came home.

I’m so very excited!  As I’ve said I’ve not had a deck jive with me like this since I bought the Faery Oracle nearly ten years ago.  So, since I’ve kept it a bit of a secret through the post and you’re going to be seeing a lot of them in the near future, let me introduce you to my purchase.

The Llewelyn Tarot

The deck focuses on Welsh mythology with images that are just enough off the beaten path to make me happy.  The two traditions which call to me the most is this Celtic/Welsh vibe and Native American.  (I can’t wait to use them in conjunction with my Medicine Cards.)  So, in that regard, it fits the bill perfectly.   I’m not overly drawn to Arthurian mythology and that is typically what you get when you begin to pull something from the history of Wales.  This is a much more educated effort as the publishers have gone back past Arther and into the deeper mythology of the area.  This is something I can really dig on.

At home and going through the cards one more time, I gave them a bit of a smudge to clean them and then let it sit for awhile.   Family life called and I was busy until bedtime.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, there’s that triskelion again…

I’ve always felt that the first card pulled from a fresh deck should be recorded and remembered.  It tends to stand as a continual marker for the coming relationship with the deck.  This morning, during the quiet hours, I shuffled the cards and made my pull.

I love this set so much.

Spiral Visions

I’m not sure exactly what is going on but over the past 12 days the triple spiral pattern, or triskelion, has been popping up all over the place for me.

I’ve seen it twice in dreams, a handful of times in meditation, and several times while “out and about.”  The most recent is that it appeared as the symbol a friend wants to include in a sand mandala she is building which was inspired by, guess what,  a crop circle.  I recently got inspiration for a tatoo (I’ve never had a tatoo) and guess what showed up?  Yeah.

And, in the next post, you’ll see how it shows up again…

I’m not going to question it TOO hard but I sort of feel like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters while building his mashed potatoes into the Devil’s Tower.  “This means something…”

Magical Walks at Lunch

During the intensely energized period of last week, I decided to take what I like to call a “dowsing walk” during my lunch break.   I discovered them last year and they are very simple to do.  I simply ask my pendulum if there is someplace I should go or see in a given area and it gives me a direction.  I usually do pick the general area I’m going first like a city park, a nature trail, or even a section of the city.  Before I begin I sometimes place qualifiers such as “don’t get me in the mud” or “please keep me in particular area X.”  Other then that, I let it guide me.

Wednesday morning,  I had felt a pulling towards the park where I had found the power spot with my dowsing last year (This was mentioned in an early post HERE) so I headed that way.  I was in my office clothes and was a bit concerned of getting them ripped, beat up or dirty.  The power spot sits in a particularly difficult and muddy spot to get to and, since it had rained the night before, I wasn’t interested in going directly towards it. Instead, I pulled into the parking lot, sat in my car and asked a few questions of the pendulum.

Rain was indicated all day today but I saw no signs of an immediate threat.  “Will it rain during my time here?” No.  With that solid,  I asked if there was someplace I should walk to and, I added, “could that place be easy to get to in my current work clothes?”  It directed me towards the small woods where the power spot was located.  Once at the edge I took the wide, mowed walking path in the direction indicated and started to take in the light on the leaves, the breeze in through the branches, the bird song all around me.  The woods there are very young, having been planted after the city turned the area from a farm into a park.  Most of the trees were no more than 30 or so years of age.  There were some real giants I’d found in my explorations but, as far as I know, I wasn’t headed towards them.

Of course, within a few minutes, the pendulum had me off the path.

But, it stayed good to my preset condition of “hey, keep the mud off the pants, alright?”  After working through a small barrier of brambles, the young forest floor opened up and it was, of course, easy walking.  The mosquitoes were my only concern since I had not brought along bug spray.   (Personal note: put bug spray in the back seat of the car and remember to maybe dowse for “mosquito control.” ) Within minutes I had a dozen or so whipping about me and I fended them off as best as I could.  The pendulum led me down a line of trees and I continued.

Finally it began to spin to indicate I was in the right spot and I looked around. To be honest, I didn’t see a whole lot at first.  Just young trees of hard and soft wood, a level and fairly clear forest floor.  Nothing stood out.  I got another confirmation from the pendulum.  It was circling madly over one particular spot and looking down I noticed a long broken branch from one of the nearby trees.  Wet and nearly covered in leaves, it was a few inches from my foot.  “Is this what I’m here for?”  Yes.  “You brought me here for a wet stick?”  Yes.

Okaaay.

I picked it up and it immediately broke in half from rot.  However, I discovered the other half still in my hand was firm, very firm.  It was also very very straight.  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it since there were other branches and fallen sticks all over the place.  (It was the woods after all!)  Why this spot and why this particular one?  Looking around I tried to figure out which tree it had come from.  This was difficult since there were small trees all around me.  Difficult, at least, until I dowsed the question and was led to a tall, slender maple tree which was the oldest in the immediate area.  Even then it was a still fairly young.

It was at this point I realized the mosquitoes had left.  No buzzing or hovering near my arms, none on my neck.  They were gone.  Mater of fact, the woods seemed a bit more peaceful, more quiet than normal.  I’d encountered this before and knew what it meant.  I put out one hand, leaned against the tree and closed my eyes.  A breeze came out of the west and I could feel the tree trunk move under me as the top of the maple swayed.  I relaxed and waited.  Finally I felt it more than I heard, “Be who you are supposed to be.  You know what to do.  No more doubts.   Be who you are.”

Should I make a pendulum out of part of found wood? (I’ve been wanting to carve one for awhile now.)  The answer – “Of course.”   Should I do anything else?  The answer – “You will know.”  Why this particular stick?  The answer – “Why not?”

That one threw me.  I laughed, thanked the tree and pushed myself off it’s trunk.  I heard a final, “Be who you are” in departure.

I checked with my pendulum to make sure I was finished and then, carrying my stick which felt very good in my hands, moved back through the trees to the mowed path.  I decided to wander on down towards the power spot which sat around 60 yards to the east.  Once close, but still on the path, I stopped and asked a few more questions concerning the node.  From the answers I determined it was active, healthy and just as powerful as before.  I dowsed to see if bringing a crystal here was a good idea.  Yes, it was.  Feeling good about that, I decided it was time to head for my car.  I was feeling very peaceful, connected and energized.

I decided to stop in a large open space when the sun slowly began to come out from behind the clouds.  The sun felt good on my skin.  As I was soaking it in I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.  In a tangled jumble of  dead trees and branches piled there by park maintenance a small wren was bouncing from branch to branch. I smiled and turned to watch.  As I did a second surprise came streaking out of the treeline in a brilliant blue flash, an Indigo Bunting!  If you’ve ever seen these birds you know how bright they are in the sunlight!  Indigo Buntings are a special bird to me and I’ve always considered them magical. Wrens are also a magical favorite of mine since I saw my first one living under my wooden deck when I rented a house in the country.  (Also considered a sacred bird to the Druids which, interestingly enough, I’ve been looking into a bit more lately.)

It landed near the wren and the two of them simply sat there chirping away.  The wren flew off to the other side of the pile, the bunting followed.  They moved around there and when the bunting flew off back to where he landed the wren followed him.  A few dragonflies flew to and fro around the brushpile and the surrounding grass.  Perhaps the pair of birds were feeding on them?  The two stayed there for some time and I watched with a satisfied smile on my face until the bunting disappeared into the tree line again and I knew I needed to get back to work.  I said my thanks and a goodbye and then headed to my car.

Another successful dowsing walk completed!

Addendum — The following day I went ahead and braved the mud and muckle to place a crystal in between the two trees of the power spot.  I also found a  wing feather of a crow along the walk to the node.  The area had dried somewhat but was wild, overgrown.  The two trees also have a mad tangle of thick grapevine around them as well as brambles and other saplings.  No clear walking here!  I placed the crystal and the crow feather upon a small platform of broken twigs.  Will go back to check on things in a few days.