Gaian Tarot Artist's Journal

A Card for Thanksgiving

A good card for today, I think, with its double message of gratitude and stewarding our resources.  Let us light a candle for those in Mumbai and offer up open hearts, full of gratefulness, to the Great Mystery.  Blessed be.

Four of Earth

On a beautiful autumn day, a grey squirrel pauses to nibble on an acorn as he gathers nuts and seeds to save for the winter to come. He is surrounded by his stash of acorns, and even more tumble out of an opening in the trunk of a maple tree. A cairn or inukshuk of four stacked stones mark the turning of the seasons and represent an embodied prayer.

Divinatory meaning: You are building a structure for personal safety and security by wisely stewarding your resources. In times of plenty, you’re saving up for the lean times ahead. But be careful — our Friend Squirrel can become so acquisitive that he saves more food than he really needs. He often forgets all the places where he hoarded his food for the winter. You might ask yourself if you’re taking more than you need. What is the best use of your resources? The nuts and seeds the squirrel forgets will grow into trees and populate a forest. Can you be generous with your resources too?

You may want to start a practice of building blessing cairns. Each stone can represent something you’re grateful for; the stack is a physical gratitude list! They can also represent prayers you say as you stack the stones. In the Inuit culture, an inukshuk often signifies safety, hope and friendship — all qualities that can’t be hoarded. In any case, the stones remind us of our connection to All That Is, and to our soul’s purpose.

Thanks to Cate Kerr for allowing me draw from her squirrel photos, and for her intimate knowledge and love of the little critters.

Gratitude begets Gratitude, Hope begets Hope

 

Yesterday when I sent out my newsletter, I included the gift of a print-quality download of my best-selling print, the Star.  I just wanted to say thank you to my subscribers, especially those who have been following my work for years now.   Within a couple of hours, Jaspenelle sent me this photo.  She had already printed it, framed it, and put it on her altar.  How cool is that?

Newsletter Preview: Coming out next Tuesday

It's time for another issue of the Gaian Tarot email newsletter, which will be in your email boxes next Tuesday.  Since the holidays are upon us, this newsletter is chock full of juicy gifts and surprises.

Here's what you'll find in it:

• For the first time ever, I'm giving away a print-quality 300 dpi download of one of my best-selling prints (the Star) just to say thank you to my newsletter readers!
• Holiday sale:  15% off all prints and Second Edition Gaian Tarot Majors-only decks, for newsletter subscribers only!
• Introducing the Gaian Tarot Tens
• How my Daily Practice keeps me sane and centered
• Events, Travels, MeetUps!
• Juicy resources, Tarot and otherwise
• A yummy winter recipe from Alma Tierra Kitchen

And once again I'll be raffling off a FREE half-hour Gaian Tarot reading by phone or video chat in each newsletter (a $45.00 value).  If you've subscribed since the last newsletter, you're eligible for the raffle.

You wouldn't want to miss all that, would you?  Sign up now if you're not already on the list! 

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The Last Ten: the Ten of Earth

Another lesson from Mama Gaia about the cycle of life/death/rebirth.  

In the deep forest, we come across a "nurse stump" or "nurse log," a tree that has fallen during a storm or been cut down.  As the log decays, it provides fertile ground for new growth to take root in its dying body.  Insects and fungi hurry along the decomposition process. Squirrels and other creatures may perch or roost there, adding food scraps and scat to the rich humus.  Soon moss, ferns and mushrooms appear, and the seedlings of new trees.  Many years later, you will see full grown trees whose roots have grown over one of these nurse stumps.

In the background, an elderly gentleman walks the forest path through dappled shade and sunshine, heading for the spot that opens up into the light.

So do we pass along our wisdom to the next generation, that they might flourish as we pass on.

(Based on a photo of my dad, who used to walk the nature preserve on the island every morning. I scattered some of his ashes there, and like to think how his body too is now nurturing young trees.)

Share Your Vision with Obama's Team

I just posted a badge on the left hand column with a direct link to "Change.gov", the new site set up by the office of President-Elect Obama.   How cool is this?  Not only do we have immediate access to the plans and agenda of the new administration, but they are also asking for our stories and visions!  Now, as Ketzirah Carly says, I don't know how they will possibly read all these, but I sure appreciate the opportunity to have my voice be heard.  I have to ponder what I want to write.  There is so much.  But I sure do love Carly's suggestion of turning the White House lawn into an organic garden!  And why not?

Yes we can!

Ten of Water: the Salmon Cycle

This isn’t exactly our familiar cheery RWS 10 of Cups, is it? It’s always so nice to see the happy family standing under a rainbow turn up in a reading.  This one is more in line with my concept of the Tens as transitional/transformational cards.  Each one, in fact, is a mini Life/Death/Rebirth card.  This one in particular reminds me of the traditional shout when the king has died: “The King is dead!  Long live the King!” (Or maybe I just have the events of the past few days still on my mind.)

Here in the Northwest, the salmon cycle of descent and return is one of the most inspiring stories we have, whether you approach it as pure science or as a spiritual metaphor. 

And now the work begins.

 

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is the opportunity to make that change." - President-Elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008.

He made activists out of all of us by enlisting us in his campaign.  And now we must continue our activism and not just go back to our private lives.  It's not about him; it's about us.  And he can't do it without us.

And no, we don't think he's the Messiah. Or Superman. We know it won't be easy for him to fulfill all his promises.  But many of us sense that he does have a "rendezvous with destiny."  He is the right person at the right time, at this pivotal point in our history.  

Oh yes, yes we can.

Make History

All Soul's Night

 

Last night our friends gathered to honor the changing tide and to remember our loved ones now on the other side of the veil.  We built this altar for our ancestors.  Isn't it beautiful?  Thanks to Chele for such a gorgeous photo (click on it to see a larger version.)

Earlier in the day, Betsy and I set up little shrines along the loop trail in our woodsy backyard.  Craig raked the leaves, laid out rope lights along the path and sprinkled sand on slippery flagstones.  Deb & Michael brought torches, and those were lit at each station, to illuminate the shrines.  Even though we live in semi-suburbia, our third-acre lot backs up to five acres of woods and the mountain beyond. So after nightfall, it was quite dark, isolated and very magical.  

A light rain and breeze rustled up the leaves. After singing chants inside the house, we walked in procession outside, carrying candles and offerings.  Humming "when we are gone, they will remain; earth and wind, fire and rain . . . "  we stopped at each shrine to offer a stone, a shell, a necklace, a bit of chocolate, a handful of nuts.  Honoring the spirits of the land and the spirits of our Beloved Dead who hovered oh so close, a whisper on the wind.  

All Soul's Altar