Gaian Tarot Artist's Journal

Midwinter: Water's Edge

A cold clear day. Frigid enough to make you gasp as you walk. Yet brilliant sun. This south-facing beach the warmest spot on the island.  

Loons on the water, ducking and diving.  Eagle circles overhead.  Heron swoops and turns.   

The Goodwill of the World is with us today!

In spite of the continuing drama in my family's life, I can't help but feel thrilled and extremely grateful for today's inauguration ceremonies.   Oh blessed, blessed be.   Have you seen this amazing portrait of Obama by Alex Grey?

Waiting

If you've been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I flew to southern California on Friday to be with my mother's family during a time of crisis.  My elderly cousin has been missing since last Tuesday under suspicious circumstances.  After running through my own emotions of shock, disbelief, rage, horror and grief, I moved into a place of calm purposefulness.  I'm here in support of my cousin whose mother is missing.  I'm grounding all the swirling, complex emotions flying all around.  I'm making sure we eat good food, keep hydrated, get out into the fresh air, get some exercise, breathe deep.  I'm finding homeopathic sleep aides.  I'm doing my best to stay grounded and centered myself.  

I'll be here for the next few days.  If anyone feels so inclined, we would deeply appreciate your prayers or focused attention for my cousin to be found; for resolution, for justice, for peace.   Thank you.

Quietness & Laziness

I am loving Beth OwlsDaughter's last two blog posts, Ceremonial of Quietness and Cultivating Laziness. Is the urge to hibernate coming up for you in these late January days? 

Living with Uncertainty

Love Jennifer Louden's guest post on Christine Kane's blog today.

"We’re being nudged (or shoved) to learn that our well-being is not dependent on anything outside of ourselves nor on knowing what’s going to happen in the end — which is good, since that would mean we would never, ever get off the couch.

Instead, we’re being shown that our well-being resides in increasing our trust in ourselves, our resiliency and our ability to return to our centers, over and over again."

Now weren't we just discussing this very thing in the last post?  It must be a zeitgeist kind of a thing.

Midwinter Musings

It appears that I'm taking a bit of a break from the blog, although I didn't really plan it that way. I am visible and accessible on Twitter and Facebook every day. But for a little while, my blog posts might be sparse. When I return, is there anything in particular you would like me to write about?

This morning, I've been musing on my outer life and my inner life.  I imagine them to be like the black and white pillars (yang & yin) in the RWS High Priestess card  In my mind's eye, I see myself rolling out the white pillar and the black pillar in turn, as if they were chunks of polymer clay.  Then I twist them around each other so they're intertwined, no longer separate.  I pull and twist and mush them together and roll them out again. The clay doesn't turn gray, oh no; instead we have this amazing marbleized blend of black and white. 

(Well that was a nice little fantasy. Can you tell I've been playing with polymer clay?)

25 Things About Me

I've been having way too much fun on Facebook lately.  Someone stop me, it's becoming an addiction! I joined last spring because my daughter-in-law said she would post photos of baby Grace there.  I had only 3 friends for months. But recently, there's been some kind of exponential explosion and it seems like half the people I know are hanging out there.   

So I was tagged by three people on Facebook for this meme and I resisted until I finally gave in.  I tagged a bunch of FB friends and am really enjoying getting to know everyone a bit better.  

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged and respond (if you like) on your blog.  Then let me know by leaving a comment here.

Blessed New Year, everyone!

25 Things About Me

1. I grew up in Los Angeles and lived in the same house until I was 17, when I went away to college.  Los Angeles in the 50's and 60's was a great place to grow up.

2. I fell in love with folk music at about age 12 or so, and went to folk concerts & coffeehouses in the LA area as often as I could manage as a teenager. I loved rock n roll too, but folk music more. That hasn't really changed. Yeah, Ian & Sylvia at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Jackson Browne at the Golden Bear, Laura Nyro at the Troubadour, and of course CSN&Y with Joni Mitchell at the Greek. Twice in one week.

3. My father was the youngest of 17 brothers and my mother the youngest of almost that many siblings. I was an only child, though not for lack of trying.

4. I've lived in the Bellingham area since 1990, including ten years on that mythical green island. My chosen home. 

5. I miss living on the island every day.

6. Every day I'm grateful for easy access to town, and all that it offers.