Tag: Magic Realist Press

Trees, Danglies & Counting

But back to blessings and gratitudes. I focused on the idea of wanting a card that would communicate counting blessings then drew.

The Magician? WHAT THE HECK, UNIVERSE? I said COUNTING not creating. sigh.

TarotofTrees_1MagicianToday’s card comes from a deck that has utterly charmed me. I don’t reach for it often enough so I think I’ll tuck it into one of my Baba bags so it can rattle around in my purse a bit.

I woke up today thinking, “I need to do a post on gratitude.” I’m in a Facebook group where all we do is post a daily gratitude. So simple. And so effective. It reminds me how to find joy in so many ways. So then my mind wander off to the idea that gratitude is counting your blessings.

Of course, this made me remember this song from White Christmas. Which I just realized I missed this holiday season. Grin, good thing they run it a lot late at night. 😀

But back to blessings and gratitudes. I focused on the idea of wanting a card that would communicate counting blessings then drew.

The Magician? WHAT THE HECK, UNIVERSE? I said COUNTING not creating. sigh.

Then I looked again. The magician’s tools dangle from his limbs. He has what he needs right there with him. And beneath him are a bevy of beautiful flowers.

Um, Universe?

Yeah. Sorry about that outburst. I guess this card is perfect.

The first place to start with gratitude, with counting blessings, with finding the WOW!Moment is myself. I don’t need to look further than my nose to realize that I am grateful for the ability to see my nose. I’m grateful for my fingers that type this post. I’m grateful for my tastebuds that tell me how yummy that cup of coffee tastes.

Then I expand out. I’m grateful to a son who asked me if I wanted coffee this morning. Then made some and brought me a cup.

And I could keep going. Keep tying the knots of things from one to the other to create (yeah, I hear you laughing, Universe) a net of gratitude that casts so far and so wide.

I may be a simple Pollyanna girl, but little joys that pile up into bigger ones are what sustain me.

What’s your most immediate gratitude? What does it tie to for you? Let’s make some knots together to create a worldwide joy net, shall we?

And did you know you can help me do one of my 100 Things for 2013? That’s one of the things from my workbook+planner that . You can do a short video of yourself saying, “Seek Joy, Y’all” for me. I would love to have folks saying this in every language of the world. I know “y’all” is a Southern thing, but it translates into “all of you” basically. So how would you say “Seek Joy, Y’all” in your way? Philadelphians might say, “Seek Joy, Y’ens” while Michiganders might say, “Seek Joy, You Guys.” How would you say it in England? or France? Or Paraguay? Or India? I want to hear you/see you say it. Message me here if you can help.

Magician, Tarot of Trees, Dana Driscoll http://tarotoftrees.com/

Beliefs, Ceremonies & Secrets

One of the questions in this closing ceremony was “What dreams came true during 2012?” I came up with four of them right off the bat. The first and second were the most important to me. They were the two that really were the biggest.

Today’s card reminds me to believe in myself. When I listen to what old me says I can’t do, new me gets shut down. That’s no fun! The 8 of Coins is the card of the craftsman. I see it as the cycle of apprentice/journeyman/master. We are all at some point on that scale. Often it depends on what it is we are doing. For instance, I consider myself to be a master at the craft of Tarot reading but an apprentice when it comes to Astrology. It’s all good too. As long as I’m still learning, I’m succeeding. This is a fun representation of this mix of learner and learned in the Fantastic Menagerie’s Eight of Pentacles. Musicians are another form of artist who have an almost continuous learning curve.

My learning curve this past year is not something I really paid that much attention to until I got this planner for next year. If you’ve been paying attention, you know where I’m heading with this post. I’m going to go on and on about the some more, y’all. There’s so much here. I’m not even a quarter of the way through but already, I’ve had an epiphany. I’ll tell you about that epiphany on Wednesday.

The planner begins with an exercise that states as the very first line:

Here’s the place where we muck it up.

My first reaction? “Well that’s just not very nice, Leonie!” But, I’ve been a member of her site since June so I thought I might want to read on for one more sentence or so. Then I saw phrases like “taking stock” and “celebration + release” and “closing ceremony.” My fears were assuaged.

One of the questions in this closing ceremony was “What dreams came true during 2012?” I came up with four of them right off the bat. The first and second were the most important to me. They were the two that really were the biggest.

1. I created art.
2. I changed people’s lives.

Now those may seem fairly disparate or maybe even super out of balance in terms of importance. I suppose I could have lied to y’all and said that the second was the first and the first was the second, but well, that’s not true. That first one is a doozy for me.

I’ve shared some of my Zentangles here and there. The responses I’ve gotten have fed my soul in a myriad of ways. I get a bit choked up when I try to verbalize those ways. Art is one of those things I always thought wasn’t in the cards for me. I figured I was good to be able to write poetry and stories. My writing partner is an artist. She’s so talented that sometimes I felt a wee bit jealous of her.

Then two things happened. One was the Leonie Dawson Creative Goddess course. The other was Joanna Powell Colbert’s seasonal practice (I took the Lammas one). Both are online courses. Neither forces you to a strict “do it or you suck” time table. Both had these amazingly supportive souls on the same journey with me. Many of them were already visual artists. I was so intimidated when I saw their first pages of THEIR art journals. Mine looked like something a child (a really untalented one) might do. Goddess. It was excruciating to share my pages. But I did.

Then while I was doing that, I heard about, stumbled over, ran across Zentangle. And boom. I took a class (had to set multiple reminders on my phone that basically said “You paid $35 for this. Don’t back out.” And other *ahem* self-motivational admonishments. When that Sunday came, I was still looking for a way out including a mild wish to be hit by a bus. What was I thinking? Me? Doing art. HA to the HELL NO.

But I did. And I did. I mean…I did! I created things that were pretty. I showed my best friend who immediately dove in as well. She’s doing them as well. Zentangles, for me, have been a way to quiet my mind which helps my creativity.

Then there’s that second piece. That big, ballsy phrase about me changing people’s lives. I hesitated before I put that one down. It’s not one of those throwaway statements. But I’m going to talk more about that tomorrow.

Want to join me on this planner journey I’m on? I have a Facebook group (it’s seeeekrit). Let me know you’ve . I’ll give you the Seeeekrit code and, if you join by midnight yesterday, you’ll get the Seeeekrit Decoder Ring and the Super Seeeekrit Ranger Necktie too. (grin).

Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on.

8 of Coins, Fantastical Menagerie Tarot, The Magic Realist Press

Living, Dying & Dieting

The large mirror she gazes into forms the trompe l’oeil of the skull while her two reflections are the eye sockets. A row of bottles of this and that range at the base of the mirror forming the teeth. A cloth drapes from the vanity to create the chin. A chilling image of beauty facing real self in the mirror.

I love to visit other blogs of others who study the Tarot. I learn so much from what they share. Recently, I visited Chloe of Inner Whispers. She had the most amazing post up. The subject was about dieting. I urge you to read her post (her whole blog actually). I can’t reiterate what she said so well.

From that post, she developed some questions. She didn’t name this spread. So I’m calling it: Continue reading “Living, Dying & Dieting”

Deck Review: The Fairytale Tarot

fairytale_mrp_10_coinsThe Fairytale Tarot: For a Happy Ever After
Karen Mahony & Alex Ukolov
Irena Triskova (Illustrator)
Publisher: Magic Realist Press; 1 edition (December 5, 2005)
ISBN-10: 095450075X

Here is a simply gorgeous deck. I ran across this one when I read something Karen Mahony said on Aeclectic Tarot. I viewed the images and feel in love. I have been an aficionado of fairy tales from a very young age. Continue reading “Deck Review: The Fairytale Tarot”