And what have I learnt...

It is a bit difficult for me to write about what have I learnt this week, with the sudden trip to the conference. I still don't know exactly what my lesson was, but I am happy I did not miss this opportunity... as scary as it was at first!

The King of Clubs, Sol, and the 3 of Diamonds were the two cards that helped me to decide whether to go or not. They appeared in the Head and Throat positions of the Present Spread, respectively. I did not meditate about their meanings, but for some reason they screamed "YES!" to me. "Go Marina, go!"

And I went. Veni, vidi, vici!

Now I think about what these cards were telling me, and what lesson have I learnt. Sol is an eternal student, a master of many subjects, but specially someone whose curiosity is never sated. Alone, all by himself, he is cold and still, like the stale air of an old library. Full of knowledge but without any use to it.

And then comes the fire, in the 3 of Diamonds. A growing fire, the one that make things change and manifest, as in a chemical reaction. The 3 of Diamonds was like a Bunsen burner, heating the little dish in which Sol rested, making his molecules move faster and faster and faster... making him rise.

ONIM ~ The Sovereign

I remember that when I first received the Oracle of the Dragonfae, this was the first card I drew. I could make neither head nor tail of it, and so I put the deck in a bag and forgot about it until Fernia called me back. Now The Sovereign came to me again, to be my guide and friend this week. Now I was ready to understand her and her message.

Having recovered almost completely from my health problems, now I think I need to really build some inner strength. Specially to face the unexpected situation that has come to me last Friday - the sudden travel to another city, to attend to a conference about digital books. My adventure begins today, at 5 pm.

The Sovereign is all about using your influence is the best way possible. Is about recognizing the power that has been placed on your hands and using it with responsibility, grace and integrity.

I have kind of blammed my superiors for putting me in this situation (as I don't deal very well with sudden changes), but The Sovereign gently tells me that we are the creators of our path, and that if this challenge was really too much for me, it wouldn't have appeared to me. Or maybe I wouldn't have accepted it. But I did because deep inside I know that I can do it.

A quick reading with the Bright Idea Deck

"The Bright Idea Deck", created by Mark McElroy and illustrated by Eric Hotz, is one of my favorite tarot decks ever. I just find it brilliant the way the creators turned old, archetypical images into modern concepts and situations.

A friend of mine is trying to change his habits... he wants to eat in a healthier way and exercise more. Today he was actively seeking ways to start putting his plan in practice. He's the kind of person who starts new things very easily but has a hard time finishing them. So I offered a reading to see the most likely outcome of his new "diet".

The Lady of Lightning never sleeps on duty

I don't really like when cards pay me visits too often. It usually means that I have not being paying attention/working on their message... or that something wicked this way comes.

I used the Wisdom of the Hidden Realms for some readings this week... usually one card readings, asking general information/advice about my life. They were not the same as my ONIM readings. I consider my ONIM reading my "stepping stones" towards self-knowledge and self-improvement. The purpose of the readings with the WHR was just... information.

And The Lady of Lightning appeared to me in EVERY reading. In every single time I used the Wisdom of the Hidden Realms this week, she found a way to sneak into my reading and make her message known.

Now, I am not unnerved by lightnings, and it's been a while since The Tower card made me shake in my boots. I understand that cards tend to adopt 'smaller' meanings when referring to 'smaller' facts, and the readings I was doing with the WHR were a bit prosaic in their intention. So while the constant appearance of the Lady of Lightning puzzled me, I did not expect anything huge to happen. Perhaps in the long run... not in my current run-of-the-mill life.

And then it happened.

The Arrow of Truth

The Truth.

When people look for card-readers, that's usually what they are after. An answer to a question, a missing piece of information, a future development - and always the truth. But sometimes, delivering the truth is more difficult than it seems.

I have confess that, in my experience, 100% positive readings are rare. Almost all readings, even good ones, have a catch. There's something you must change... something you must let go of... something you must do in order to reap the rewards. But if the general feeling of the reading is in accordance to the querent's wishes, it's much easier to talk about the small stumbling blocks.

Handling the arrow of the truth becomes difficult when the reading is not what the querent wants. Nobody likes a no!, no matter how prepared they think they are to receive it. And if the querent is certain that the answer will be a double yes!, then the task becomes even harder. Furthermore, there are times in which people think that they want the truth, nothing but the truth... but when the truth is shown, they close their eyes. As readers we cannot force them to accept the message - but we still have to find a way to deliver it.

So... how to shoot the arrow of truth without stomping on the querent's heart with hobnail boots?

ONIM ~ Morgan le Fey (2)

I don't think I am surprised to see dearest Morgan le Fey again this week. She paid me a visit a couple of weeks ago, bringing her healing message... to which (I am ashamed to say) I did not pay much heed. After the weekend I had, "Healing" is becoming a need, not an option.

It is the first repeat card of the year! I have discussed a bit of her symbolism in my July 6th 2011 post.

Like I said in my previous post, I spend the entire Saturday with a moderate fever, and horrible cramps. Sunday came, the fever was gone, but the cramps remained, making my parents think that perhaps I was having appendicitis. Today I feel no pain, but since I did not rest during the weekend, I did not have a good Monday. It gave the "Oh No It's Monday!" expression a whole new meaning...

Morgan keeps urging me to heal... She says:

"You are whole, perfect and complete. [...] You are never alone. And I will always be at your side, whenever you need me. You are orphan, outcast, wanderer no more."

Through the looking-glass - the Southern Hemisphere

Helen's post "Christmas in July" inspired me to think a bit about the spirituality 'culture' and how it relates to (and sometimes, ignores) the Southern Hemisphere. Like her, I was shocked to read a reviewer of the Oracle of the Dragonfae accusing the "New Moon Fae" card of having a 'wrong moon' depicted.

Excuse me?

It is undeniable that most of the human race lives in the Northern Hemisphere, as it has much more land than the Southern Hemisphere. Also, the fact is that many Southern Hemisphere countries have been colonized by Northern nations, and ended up adopting their views, holidays and religions without discrimination. I believe this explains why the Northen Hemisphere view of certain natural events, like the moon phases and the seasons, tends to prevail.

But when it comes to some aspects of spirituality - specially for those who follow a nature-centered path - things are a bit more complicated. You are supposed to follow the rhythms of the Earth - and to do that according to the Southern Hemisphere, you have to adapt (or ignore) a huge portion of the spirituality literature that is available.

ONIM ~ Melusine

I apologize for posting my ONIM reading so late in the day. The truth is that I'm sick again... it honestly feels like I never quite healed. Ever since I came back from Canada, I don't remember ever feeling truly well, physically speaking.

I cannot say that I really worked on Morgan Le Fey's message last week... I didn't know how to put the words into action, and exhausted the way I was (and still am) "Healing" seemed the most distant thing ever.

But enough whining. This week, my Dragonfae friend is  Melusine, and her message is "Love who you are".

Again, a strong water presence... for those who don't know the story of Melusine, it is about a fairy from the forest who meets and falls in love with a king. He falls in love for her too, but she only accepts to marry him if he promises her he will always let her bathe alone. He agrees. But after a while, he gets curious about the secrecy of her bath, and decides to spy on her. To his surprise, he sees that during the shower Melusine assumes her real form - half-woman, half-dragon (some say she had tentacles... she is a water creature from the waist down). When she finds about his betrayal, she flies away from the castle, back to her home forest, and leaves him heartbroken...

Interview with the Herbal Tarot

The Herbal Tarot... many times I considered buying this deck, only to change my mind in the last minute. But the friends you are meant to meet in this life always find a way to jump at you. My Herbal Tarot found me in a little metaphysical store, in Victoria, BC, Canada. It was an used copy, and looked like it had been there for a long time, waiting for someone...

I brought the Herbal Tarot home with me, and it surprised me! I was also lucky enough to find its companion book, "The Spirit of Herbs: A Guide to the Herbal Tarot", which is very OOP.

This deck really attracts me, so I decided to explore our potential together through an interview.

1. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic? ~ Five of Swords [Mistletoe]

I am a friend and a teacher for both the moments of happiness and sadness, victory and loss. When you reach the top, I'll remind you the importance of humbleness. When you are feeling down, I'll help you to rise again.

ONIM ~ Morgan le Fey

One week has passed already, and it's time for a new ONIM draw! I realize last week was a quiet one - I was absorbing Brigid's lessons, from the last ONIM. Surprisingly enough, that card made a huge difference for me... it made me realize a couple of things about my own behavior and communication patterns. I'll keep working on changing them for better.

New week, new card! And who is paying me a visit this week? Morgan le Fey herself, and her keyword is healing. I have read the Dragonfae's booklet twice, and I confess I'm still not completely sure about what Morgan is trying to tell me. She is the Dragonfae that helps you when you are feeling tired, unwell or run down by stress. All the three conditions apply to me.

She is the Dragonfae that defends your right to rest. Your right to have a safe heaven in which problems and demands are left outside, so you can recover. Maybe this week I have to call on Morgan Le Fey's energy to help me to rest a bit. She suggests that I share the burdens with someone I trust, and that I stay open to new friendships (something I seldom am).

Horoscope spread ~ Helping a friend to decide

I never had enough... courage?.... to use the Horoscope spread, although I have always admired readers who could use it. For me it is one of the few big spreads that really work, if you know how to use it.

Today a friend of mine sent me a message asking for a reading. Like me she is a deck collector, and she just found for sale a deck she wants very much. However, the deck is kinda expensive, because it is uncommon... she knows she should be saving money instead of spending it, but she fears she may lose the opportunity of getting it if she doesn't buy it now. She asked me for a reading because reading for herself wasn't helping.

I said I'd giving her a reading, if she agreed to be my Horoscope Spread guinea pig. And she did!

The question is: "is it wise for me to buy this deck right now?". Below is her reading.