Chakra Wisdom Oracle Deck – Daily Draw 5.03.15

This morning I woke up with a cluster headache. Pain in the neck, jaw, forehead… It really made me sad because the weather outside is gorgeous and I wanted to go on a hike with my hubby and his best friend. Instead, I took an epsom salt bath, vomited, and went back to sleep. I awoke four hours later to find the pain had subsided a bit, but had not left.

As I sat in my living room trying to decide what I could do without increasing the pain, my eyes kept being drawn to my Chakra Wisdom Oracle Deck, sitting on the shelves near my favorite chair. When this happens, I know I need to stop what I am doing and go do a reading. Odd, I know, but it is almost as if the cards have a message for me and are calling me to come and get it.

Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards: The Complete Spiritual Toolkit for Transforming Your Life

I sat down, too my deck in hand and held them close to my heart chakra. Similar to how my stones react to my energy, I could feel the vibration in the cards, and I took it as confirmation that I was taking the right action.

I shuffled and drew the top three cards:

 

At a glance, without opening the book that came with the deck, I know that the blue border on the first two cards indicates the throat chakra. Unsure what the gray border indicates, I opened the book to see.

“Neutral. Embrace the Spirit of Universal Consciousness
Overall Impression: Neutrality
Key Words: Enlightenment, consciousness, purpose, wisdom, spirituality, unity, expansiveness
Manifesting Intention: In the seventh chakra – the crown chakra – we reach the place of universal consciousness, which is outside the physical body. You may notice that these cards represent some aspect of our collective being. The idea here is that we all vibrate through our seventh chakra and in a powerful way it keeps us connected to our humanity.

The cards of the seventh chakra are neutral in color because Spirit essence is neutral. Here you will receive messages from Spirit that are detached from human worry. These cards indicate the higher-minded thinking that happens when we align with Spirit. The power of holding space can also be seen in the still energy of each card.

Here you will see how conscious choice can bring you spiritual magnetism. These are the cards of mastery.”

ALRIGHTY THEN. Poignant, no? MAJOR headache. Crown chakra. Receiving messages from Spirit that are detached from human worry. Makes sense why I have not been receiving the messages. My life, of late, despite my best efforts, has been fraught with worry. Yeah, okay. So, let’s back up to the first two cards with the blue borders…the throat chakra cards. We will address the cards specifically afterward.

“Blue. Find your way of expressing yourself
Overall Impression: Communication
Key Words: Truth, communication, loyalty, serenity, faith, spirituality, creativity, expression
Manifesting Intention: The cards of the fifth chakra – the throat chakra – reveal at a core level matters of communication; this includes creative focus and your ability to be heard and understood. Being able to communicate the truth you feel in your heart will bring forward all the positive attributes of these cards. When you deny your heart’s knowledge, challenges will present themselves.

Here you will find a definition of personal leadership and redefine beliefs that no longer serve you. Personal responsibility will be brought into play.

The blue cards are a reflection of how you relate to the world. All matters concerning self-expression will be revealed. These include personal forms of expression such as writing, art, speaking, and presentation skills. The resulting experiences in your life are linked to how you communicate with the world around you. In essence this means you will not get what you ask for, but you will get who you are, reflected back to you.”

UGH. FINE. COMMUNICATION RECEIVED. Sheesh. At this point, who needs the card specifics?!? This is one helluva read for me already! But…since we are here to learn, I suppose we should press on.

So, what cards did I draw today? Workaholic, Impatience, and Rejection…sounds promising, doesn’t it? Actually, if you choose to buy and use this oracle deck, please keep in mind that despite the titles of the cards perhaps sounding negative, they are rather balanced, and often do not mean what you think they might mean from first glance. This deck in particular uses stories, color, and imagery to convey meaning. Being an artist and a student of the chakras, it resonated with me the first time I looked at it and touched it.

Workaholic
“While I worked, my life happened.”

Each card in this deck reveals a legend, an inspiration, a personal inquiry, key ideas and keywords. It also includes a meditation at the end of the page to help you get this particular issue back in line. I love that! I am fine having my issues pointed out, if you give me an action I can take to remedy anything I am unhappy with.

For this card, the main theme is balancing career and down time. It encourages you to look and see if you are working too hard, avoiding doing something you know you need to, feeling inadequate or unfulfilled by your work. It suggests that in doing fun things, things that explore your talents and are forms of expression, you will be happier and more fulfilled, thus refreshing your mind to better perform your work.

Extreme self-care. This is a theme that has popped up in my life over and over. I see the benefits, when I actually take the time to do it. So why, then, do I not diligently implement this into my life? Why is it so hard to schedule time to take care of me? Why do I feel bad and guilty and then just continue working in a rapidly flooding river of overwhelm? Point taken, deck. Thank you very much. Next!

Impatience
“If I don’t take care of it, it’ll never happen”

Well, holy shit! Dead-on, once again. <insert grumbling expletives here>

This card talks about scarcity thinking and forcing situations. It encourages success through patience. It indicates that now is not the time to make a rushed decision. Acting in haste may actually block the amazing from happening, or it may block your experience of it because you were so intent on being in control and forcing the issue.

Sadly, this is the story of my life. I have experienced the delicious reward of waiting for the green pepper blossom to become a vegetable, the excitement of seeing the first flower bloom in spring. I would never think of prying open a tulip bud before it is time for it to blossom. And why? Because in my desire to rush things, I would kill that which I desire most.

So why, then, do I so frequently do exactly that? In my rush to succeed, to be understood, to feel belonging, do I jump the gun and force issues only to destroy them in the process? How does this directly play in with your throat chakra and communication? Clearly, I need to have some conversations…

The card encourages the following meditation:

“Imagine something you strongly desire. The electric blue moon appears and begins to cool the heat of your emotions. Write down any communication you receive in the moonlight – it is a message from the Council of Great Spirits.”

Rejection
“They won’t use me”

This card says something very interesting… “Rejection is Spirit’s protection”. I had not really thought of it that way. For instance, in my small business…what if I considered that the client who rejected the price I charge for a service, and therefore did not hire me was actually protecting me from something. Perhaps from the issues that arise from someone not valuing my work, or appreciating my efforts.

Perhaps, referencing the previous card, if I force issues in the desire of seeking approval and support in my business or my relationships, I am actually working against my environment. Perhaps instead, in my seclusion and patience, I can seek personal development, extreme self-care and protect myself and my emotions from unhappiness and feelings of lack.

WOW. Who would have guessed what a powerful reading this would be for me today. So glad that I took the time, and invested in one of the ways I can care for myself. If you are interested in more information on Extreme Self-Care, and the difference it can make in your life, please check out Cheryl Richardson’s book. It has done me a world of good.

 

 

 

April 22, 2015 – Daily Tarot Draw

Today’s drawing included these three cards:

  

The Empress (reversed)
Six of Pentacles
The Hanged Man

Biddy Tarot Interpretation:
The Empress, Six of Pentacles, The Hanged Man

My Interpretation:
Before I begin with my interpretation of the cards, I would like to share the experience I had earlier in the day at my weekly massage. My massage therapist is also trained in energy work, and every week at the end of my massage, I ask her to tell me how my chakras feel to her. Basically asking if she feels that any of them are out of balance and need paying attention to.

This week she took a bit longer than usual, and when she finally spoke, she said, “Well, your sacral chakra…when I focus on it, it makes me feel like crying.” That probably was a weird feeling for her, and it probably sounds even weirder to you, but to me, it made perfect sense.

The sacral chakra is the seat of your creativity, fertility, emotions…

“This chakra houses your creative and sexual energies – your ability to nurture and give birth to the seeds of life. It is considered to be the ‘relationship chakra’ because it represents our ability to relate to other people.

Problems with this chakra arise when there are issues involving creativity and financial and sexual power. For example, concerns relating to childbirth and parenting, financial or sexual inadequacy, or repressed creativity.

The challenge of the sacral chakra is to interact consciously with others and allow the creative flow of life to guide and shape continual change in our lives.”

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant, so far unsuccessfully, and yet people in my life keep showing up unexpectedly pregnant…people who don’t want children, or people you can’t imagine ever being good parents. So if one of my chakras is going to cry, it’s bound to be that one. So, when The Empress popped up, I was not surprised at all. The Empress (reversed) represents a creative block, and dependence on others.

Finding a healthy balance between work and creative fun has always been difficult for me. I have a tendency to err on the side of working, where perhaps the freedom to create would help me be more balanced, healthier and essentially more productive when I work.

I also struggle with my femininity. I was raised by a tomboy to be a tomboy. I have never been into the foo-foo aspects of being a female, and so when it comes time for me to identify with other women, especially concerning nurturing and that sort of thing…I feel a bit at a loss.

The Empress (reversed) suggests too much time and focus is being put on others and not on self. Introspection is required to find this balance. Without it, relationships and communications could suffer. Self-expression feels stifled, and things that should be communicated are remaining bottled up.

Focusing inward to restore confidence is critical. It is easy to wallow in the negative opinions of others that haunt you from the past.

This part of the Biddy Tarot Interpretation really spoke to me:

“The Empress reversed indicates that you are feeling discontented because something is missing or lacking in your life, or because you want to find something creative, meaningful or fulfilling to do but you do not know what. This card can indicate a creative block. You may find your mood is depressed or negative. Work can feel laborious and mundane. This is not a time to think, act or do. You are already overloaded and mental pursuits will not give you what you need. Further attempts to follow your intellect or reasoning mind will only cause frustration or lead you astray.

The Empress reversed may also indicate issues with pregnancy, whether it is infertility or an unwanted pregnancy.”

The Six of Pentacles (upright) represents generosity, charity, giving, prosperity, and sharing wealth. This is a message I have been wanting for a while, and was thrilled to see it show up. As a relatively new entrepreneur, finances are always a concern, and I have been waiting for the sun to break through the clouds in this arena.

Biddy Tarot says,

“The Six of Pentacles is a card representing being in harmony with your money. The amount that comes in and the amount that flows out are in balance, and you are thankful for what you have without being grasping of it, and happy to share with others in need. This card is also about charity. You may either be the wealthy man in this card, giving away his wealth, or the beggars, gratefully receiving what the man has to offer.”

I took this as encouragement that I am on the right track and all the hard work I have been doing both internally and externally concerning my business, will soon produce fruit.

The Hanged Man (upright) was the last card to show up and it too just fit perfectly with what is going on in my life.

“He represents suspension, restriction, letting go, and sacrifice. This is the card of ultimate surrender, of being suspended in time and of martyrdom and sacrifice to the greater good. This is the archetype to meditate on to help break old patterns of behaviour and bad habits that restrict you.”

I saw clearly that all of the stresses that keep popping up in my life keep calling me to take action, but this is a time to hold off and wait. Moving too quickly could mess up all the hard work I have invested so far, and could create miscommunication, as well as leave me feeling just as stuck as I was before. Seeking internal emotional release is important. Do whatever it takes to go within and release yourself from the feeling of being stuck.

Being willing to sacrifice in order to attain the greater good may come into play. Be willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you are going. It may not look like you want or expect.

My Adventures in Tarot

Not too long ago I participated in an Angel Card Reading class that was taught by a client and good friend of mine. I had owned a tarot deck for years, but had only purchased it for the stunning artwork on it. I had no idea how to use it, and frankly, raised in the religious home I was raised in, even mentioning tarot or anything like that was strictly forbidden.

At 41, I feel like this was less an act of rebellion and more an act of self-discovery. I am certain my parents would disagree.

Each tarot, oracle or angel card deck is different, but the basic meanings of the cards and suits are generally the same. There are some exceptions. For instance, I have a deck based on stories that revolve around the seven chakras. It doesn’t follow the standard suits at all.

The original tarot deck, the Rider-Waite deck is generally looked at as the “Bible” of the tarot, since it was the first. Most other decks are based off its images and values.

Angel cards and oracle cards are more loosely based on tarot, if at all. They often come from a more spiritual viewpoint as well. To me, you choose the deck or decks that feel right, or resonate with you.

In my friend’s class I learned how to clear the energy from a deck and how to imprint it with my own energy. We were asked to choose a deck, to clear it, to choose a question or an intention, and then to draw a card. We were to look up the meaning of the card in the accompanying booklet and to apply it to our intention or question. Amazingly, each deck I did this with, the cards seemed to be right on.

In the course of the class, I was informed that the most important part of reading tarot is how in tune you are with your intuition. You can accurately read your own, or someone else’s tarot purely from intuition and the impression you get when you look at the images on a card. This fascinated me. I thought I had to have some magical power or some mystical gift…but the strong levels of intuition that I have, and my ability to read another human being both work amazingly well with the tarot.

After successfully reading a few people, and getting some very interesting (and accurate) readings from others, I just felt like tarot was something I needed to get into more. I ordered my new deck from Amazon before I left the parking lot. The Chakra Oracle deck is not only beautiful, but puts a really creative spin on things. I find that I am drawn to use that particular deck when I am struggling with my creativity or my emotions.

My Cosmic Tarot deck is my standard “go to” deck, but I also have a third deck that I sometimes use. Just like you would use your intuition to choose the cards you draw, I also use my intuition to choose my deck for the reading.

As any beginner might, I chose to look up the meanings of the cards I drew each day online. Partly to confirm what my intuition was telling me as to the meaning of the card, and partly to get to know the standard card meanings better. I found that the best site for me, the one that seemed the most informative, consistent and accurate was Biddy Tarot. As though it was meant to be, not long after I started using this site, I saw their ad for a free 31 day tarot reading program. I signed up immediately!

I started getting emails daily, walking me through learning each card. I was encouraged to keep a journal, and I began with a written one, but decided that blogging would be the best way for me. I am a faster typist, and this way, it is all here online for my quick and easy future reference.

So, if you are joining me on my adventure, welcome. Drop in any time to see what I am learning from the universe about myself, the tarot, and my life journey.

Thanks for coming along!