Turning of a Wheel is the image that comes to mind. So let's have a Wheel of Fortune card.

My biggest accomplishment in the last two years regarding Tarot (and other divinatory practices) studies is learning how to frame questions. It's similar to techniques used when interviewing someone to elicit stories and detailed information. Since this was an area that completely stumped me for the longest time, it feels good to have "parted" this particular curtain to a certain extent. I am still no where near adept, but I am definitely in this previously hidden room of ability.

I have been highly creative lately, beginning a blog, finding other bloggers, communicating via e-mail with tarot designers/writers, and generally seeing how Tarot has become the hub in the multi-spoked wheel that is my life. I became a subscriber to Joanna Powell Colbert's newsletter. Her most recent issue is informative about what she is doing in her life and with the Gaian Tarot, and includes information about an event in April 2009 called the Readers Studio, hosted annually by The Tarot School. Now, see, probably most of the rest of you already knew about this event, but I'd never heard of it.

Also, I was catching up with some podcasts that I had missed hearing when they were first published, so finally caught up with Leisa ReFalo's Tarot Connection interview with Thalassa (Episode # 89), who began BATS, Bay Area Tarot Symposium. Thalassa is witty, hilarious, dramatic, entertaining and very enjoyable to listen to. In preparing for our trip to SF in December, I found Fields Books, one of the best metaphysical bookstores in the country. As one of those spooky synchronistic events, Thalassa was giving a talk the night of the day I was checking out Fields' event calendar.

So back to the newsletter by Joanna - It was an excellent example of a style to emulate for my own newsletter to be rolled out in 2009. I am gearing up to begin new strategies in marketing my massage practice. I recently read an excellent Massage Magazine article called "Marketing in Tough Economic Times" and checked out the online extra called "6 Tips for Writing Your Own Newsletter." Joanna's newsletter had it all. I have a lot more study and homework to do!!

Spokes on my wheel: Growing my business, learning tarot, magick, creativity, art, writing, healing myself and others, living with love and compassion. I am sure I have a few more (how many spokes can there be on a wheel and it still functions?). To discover that Tarot is central to it all was an interesting and important revelation.

Looking forward; looking back; staying present

11/22/08 - This is the anniversary of my maternal grandfather's birth. Happy Birthday, to my dear Grandpa, whom I adored and loved with every fiber of my being. Carl Swope, I love and miss you, and you are never far from my thoughts or my heart.

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I've been "really" studying Tarot this last two years, compared with the dabbling I did when I first discovered Tarot at age 14. Now I feel like such a dolt that I didn't make use of the resources available to me while I lived in San Francisco, but that was then, this is… whatever.

What I find fascinating is how Tarot can draw out from the depths of one's psyche intuitive and perceptive ways of viewing issues, obstacles, characteristics and creative solutions. It is an amazing window to the mind, spirit and soul of one's life. Or can be. I'm much happier being a student of Tarot than a reader of the cards. I love reading on-line blogs (Owl's Wings, Beth Owl's Daughter wonderful Blog) and am especially fond of The Tarot Connection podcast (Leisa ReFalo).

Joanna Powell Colbert is the author of Gaian Tarot, my favorite deck (Revelations Tarot by Zach Wong is my second favorite). Joanna's website and newsletters (just got one last Tuesday!! - she's an inspiration) are always interesting, and I use her online Gaian Oracle frequently. It always helps clarify my thoughts and feelings when I am doubtful, unsure and second guessing a situation or decision (like the upcoming bathrooms remodel project).

This morning I met with my friend, G., to go over ideas about being exercise buddies. We're both menopausal women with arthritic knees, who need to lose weight and are struggling with motivation. We want to be healthy, but it feels like such an uphill battle at this point. I spent a bunch of time and money this year at the gym working with a personal trainer. Ended up getting injections in my knee and an inflamed shoulder. However, on the positive and joyful side, I began practicing and studying qigong this summer and wanted G. to join me at the Tuesday night classes and free Saturday morning practice in the park near my home. She just left with our week's plans firmly on the calendar and a few borrowed DVDs to watch. I came back to the computer to continue catching up on blogging, e-mails and Tarot study materials, working on ideas for my study group postings and the meeting I'll be leading in February. The Gaian Oracle was on the screen. So, what better time to pose this question: How do I get back on track with exercise and fitness? I have listed the author's descriptions of the cards below my thoughts and what the reading brought up for me.

The Opportunity Card describes precisely where I've been physically and emotionally most of this year: I have stepped back from "busy-ness" and am living entirely in a fallow time, which I know as a gardener is crucial, imperative and beneficial. I am keenly aware that I am not in charge of any part of the duration or timing of this process. What I am in charge of is seeing it through and being present with my feelings, allowing them a voice, if you will, which ties in with a qigong workshop I took for Women's Health called Radiant Lotus, which was all about vocalizations and using the voice. I am feeling my entrance into the Crone phase, where my time is now to be spent on creative pursuits. I feel the hand of the Crone upon my back, at my belly, touching my crown chakra, rocking me, prodding me, nudging me, insistently.

The Challenge Card - the Awakening - has certainly been a big theme for this last year. We started recycling a year ago, a practice I've done most of my adult life, But I had difficulty getting family participation for whatever reason. Some how, some way, a year ago everything fell into place to make it a regular household program. This process reminded me it's hard to change long standing patterns and set new habits - where to throw certain trash and how to handle it, etc. Then this summer we took a free composting class offered by Denver Urban Gardens, which was one of the more exciting classes I've ever taken. More habits and patterns to change. Then, I realized I had become a daily flosser, after years of struggling with not being able to carry it forward for more than a few weeks at a time, typically just before a dental hygiene appointment. Then wham! I have been flossing daily for over a year. The awakening is happening, but it does upset apple carts when old habits go away and new habits are begun. Disruption Shakes The Tree. Another concept that comes to mind is that the path of the warrior steps outside habitual patterns and looks at why one does things a particular way. Can habits be given up? Should they be changed? What is worth my time and energy? What is important for me to focus on? What is to be my legacy? The Crone whispers – is she speaking to me or to herself? Is there any difference?

Along comes Temperance in the position of Resolution - HILARIOUS. "THE" card for this Libra, more so than the "Justice" card, by far. The author's explanation is so spot on, it totally rocks (and rolls). This Temperance card is so ME it is scary. And we come full circle with the reading. Bringing outer in and inner out, change and flow, being present, looking forward, looking back, seeing change as a stream or a cloud. The journey is the point, not the destination, I get it. The journey is evolving, and I am finding tremendous joy on the path. qigong, creative pursuits, studying Tarot, gardening, healing through shamanism, massage therapy, meditation, writing, communicating, and then just plain having fun. It's all there in the flow, and I can join and step back as I need and want.

Reading from Gaain Oracle 11/22/08
Opportunity
12 - the Tree - Letting go
You have the opportunity to release attachments and surrender to the flow. You are no longer in charge of your life. It isn't a time to resist, for everything is out of your control. Give it up. Your world may feel like it's been turned upside down. You can fight this reversal — you can go into it kicking and screaming — or you can surrender with grace and take it as an opportunity to see your life from a different perspective. It is a time to take no action, other than meditation and prayer. Learn to be still. During this time of suspension and waiting, you may discover within yourself the gifts of inspiration, enlightenment and unconditional love.

Challenge
20 - Awakening - Getting conscious
You are being challenged to raise your consciousness and "wake up" in some way. Perhaps you will make a commitment to eating locally-grown organic foods, or perhaps you will begin a new spiritual practice. You now perceive yourself to be part of the global community. You know that your choices and actions affect the entire web of life, and you live your life accordingly, as best you can. As you continue to open yourself up to the life of the Spirit, your heart is filled with compassion and you begin to let go of the judgments and criticisms you have made in the past. To live in alignment with your deepest, most authentic Self is not possible without the help of spiritual allies. It's this knowledge that keeps us humble. You know that your life has purpose and meaning, and this gives you deep joy and peace. Service to others may not have been part of your life in the past, but it is now. When each person gives their own unique gift to the world, the entire fabric of the planet is strengthened and enriched.

Resolution
14 - Temperance - Combining opposites
Resolution comes with finding the serenity of the middle way between polarities. You are ready to embrace the different parts of your personality, both light and shadow, that combine to make your own unique self. Your inner, spiritual life harmonizes with your life in the workaday world. You have discovered that your whole life is a work of art. You may be in need of healing on a spiritual or physical level, and the Winged One — a descendant of the ancient Bird Goddesses — is here to facilitate that for you. She may also aid you as you move into the role of healer yourself.



All Gaian Tarot images and writer's interpretations reprinted author's permission 11/22/08