Supernal Ovations Uncover Lessons – A Spread for the Holocaust

Reblogged from Shining Tribe:

I’ve decided to feature occasional chapters from SOUL FOREST .  When I thought about it, it was instantly clear which one would have to come first. Recently, a woman named Laurie Hoogland wrote to me with a daring request. She had been reading my book, The Forest of Souls, with its various Wisdom Readings, in which I used the Tarot to explore kinds of questions we usually do not ask the cards, such as how God created the universe, or the meaning of resurrection. Laurie thought about her own great concern …

This is a fantastic post featuring the depths that tarot can go. Love Rachel Pollack.

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. – TS Eliot

I love the end of the year.  I love it.  I cleaned my house today – top to bottom.  I Tetris’d my storage unit, swept under stairs, packed away clothes and donated things.  I always feel this need to clear away clutter and empty my home as much as I can during this time.  I’m not sure what brings this on.  Could be that the excesses of the holidays just push me over the edge into Too-Muchiness.  Could be that during this stark, cold time of year, I think that someone else could use that blanket, this food, those toys.  I’m surrounded by the people that I adore, and that is enough.  Every New Year’s Day, I have an open house potlucky thinger.  We stay in our jammie pants, we play board games and video games and eat warm food.  My house is full again, but not of stuff.

In this vein, I wanted to write about the card that comes to mind when I think of endings and beginnings.  The World.  It’s the Alpha and Omega.  When I asked people what they thought of this card, nearly everyone said, “The End!  And the Beginning!  Completion!  Fresh starts!”.  Yeah.  All of that.  When I look at the World card – the traditional Rider Waite card, it doesn’t really do much for me.  I wrote about it here.  I’ve been looking at so many pretty decks lately, I’ve decided to visit each one that grabbed my attention this year.

Yes. You're a fancy baton twirler. We get it.

I will touch on the RW card at first so you can see what makes my eyes roll out of my head.  It kind of reminds me of the angel featured in the Lovers card.  The Angel of Ridiculous Flaming Hair?  Yeah, that guy.  I get the balance and the oval symbolizing a hoo-ha, all four elements in the pics and the infinity symbol and all that.  Yes.  Very fancy.  What does it MEAN tho?  When I was a young tarot reader, I would look at the picture, wrinkle my nose and then dive into The Book.  Please, Tarot Book – please tell me what the hell this card means?  That’s so frustrating.  You don’t *want* to run to the book with every card, but some of them are just so bloody DEEP that you can’t help it.

Get your own shiny orb/ball thinger.

This is the Shadowscapes deck by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.  OH.  Ok.  Well, this chick I understand.  She’s worked very hard on this beautiful orb/ball thinger.  She’s carried it and worked on it and learned and I feel very strongly that she’s about to chuck it over her (admittedly enormous) hat and walk forward to make another one.  I don’t think she’s going to look back, either.  This transition is going to be smooth and determined, and I don’t think she knows what the new one will look like, either.  And that’s perfectly ok.  She has tenacity.

Don't drop it, lady.

This is the Gaian tarot – which is just lovely.  I haven’t gotten to play with this one yet, but Theresa Reed mentioned it and I’ve been cooing over the pictures.  Melissa has a little tarot crush – yes she does.  This card is inclusive.  You have the representations of the elements, but they’re not stuffy and archaic.  The snake is the earth, the butterfly is the air.  You get this.  Also, Gaia looks what I think Mother Nature looks like.  A happy, glowing crone of a doll who would hug you and reprimand you within seconds.  This is the World – SHE is the world.  She is the beginning and the end.  She has that spirit of giving and openness that comes with transition and change.  She reminds me of my Grandma, to be honest.  The same woman who told me that, “No one is awake at midnight except the Devil and Johnny Cash – keep your ass at home.”, and who, the next day patted my head and listened to me bemoaning the fact that I didn’t listen to her.   She has balance.

I got this.

I love this deck – the Prairie Tarot by Robin Ator.  Love it.  I love this card, too.  It’s got the elements, too.  I love the figure in the middle so much.  She’s so freaking confident.  If she bends her arms just “so”,  and holds her parasol just “here”, she’s going to walk right off the end of that tightrope.  I like this one because it reminds me of the Fool’s journey.  If you look at the tarot as a story, and the Fool walks through each one, the World is the end of his journey.  The Fool falls off of a cliff in his own card - it’s inevitable.  First of all, he hasn’t got a parasol (duh), and secondly, he’s just learning.  He doesn’t know himself, he doesn’t know where he’s going, and he’s not sure what to do when he gets there.  Not this lady – she has confidence.

Ta-daaa!

This last one is from one of my favorite decks – I can’t use it much anymore because the edges are frayed and worn.  This is the Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr.  I love the unveiling aspect of it.  I love that the art is so detailed, and makes me think of the intricacies of every decision we make.  Everything that we do matters.  Every person we talk to counts.  Every action that we take, every choice that we make – EVERYthing leads us to where we are.  It directs our path – the hardships, the failings, the times we just said, “Hell with it.”, and stayed in bed.  That brought us right here, to this very minute.  All of the broken bits make us stronger.  You did get out of bed, eventually, and that decision brought you to this end – this beginning.  I love this image because I love the thought that through all of our shenanigans and f*cked-uppery, someone is watching over us making sure that we’re ok.  Someone has our back.  It’s going to be ok.  These ladies, and those they protect – they have grace.

SO, tenacity, balance, confidence and grace.  The beginning and the end.  The acceptance that yeah, you screwed up, but still – you made it.  Nice job!   Now that you’re here, you need to start to think about ‘there’.  What’s next?  Where you goin?

Wherever your path leads you, I hope you have a fantastic New Year and an amazing rest of the year, too.

xo -Lis

Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business. – Tom Robbins

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who believed in fairy tales.  REALLY believed.  She wandered around the woods looking for the fairies and sprites that she knew were just out of sight.  She was certain there was something under her bed, which is why she lined up her stuffed animals so the ones she liked least hit the floor first.  Sorry, Raggedy Andy.  She read every fairy tale she could get her hands on.  Celtic, Native American and Russian.  Polish, Indian and Italian.  Her friends were Rose Red, Anansi and Baba Yaga.  And then she grew up, and the fairy tales went away.

Or so I thought.  I found an anthology of fantasy and horror edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.  I read it.  Then I read it again.  Then I went to the author list and wrote every author of every short story and found their books at the library and read all of those.   Because of these books, I found Delia Sherman, Jane Yolen, Charles deLint, Will Shetterly and Emma Bull.  The fairy tales were back.  They were relevant, comforting, visceral, and sometimes scary as hell.

The reason I’m writing all of this is because Ms. Windling has fallen on hard times.  Her friends have begun an auction to help her out.  I know that it’s not much, but I’m offering one of my readings –untimed- to give back to this woman who has given me so much.

http://magick4terri.livejournal.com/93415.html

Please check out the other offerings, too.  There are signed books from the authors above, as well as other readings, experiences and artwork.  It’s a lovely thing to do for a lovely person and artist.  All of the pictures on this post are Ms. Windling’s.  See what I mean?  Magic.

http://magick4terri.livejournal.com/

Thank you, Ms. Windling.

“The one red leaf, the last of its clan, / That dances as often as dance it can, / Hanging so light, and hanging so high, / On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

My friend, Beth, has got a great holiday offer.  Check it out!

Melissa

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Hi friends,

Are you a bit stuck trying to find an interesting or different Christmas present, or just looking for new ideas for your loved ones? How about giving a Tarot reading?

I offer a choice of a basic reading for £12, or a more in-depth reading for £22 (that works out about $8 or $17 in US dollars).

I’ll send you a lovely gift card (or an e-card if you’d prefer) with information about my readings which you can give to your friend or relative – this will entitle them to email me with their question whenever they’re ready. Don’t worry, I’ll make it clear that the reading will be clear, practical and free from any mystical mumbo-jumbo – that’s just not my style.

Their reading will come as a high-quality, well-written PDF with colourful illustrations and links. I spend a lot of time on my readings, which are wholly centred on the querent: they can expect at least five pages for a shorter reading and around ten for a longer one, although they often end up being more.

So that’s a good five or ten pages of information and ideas all about yourself – what a great present!!

To find out more, take a look at my website, littleredtarot.co.uk, or email me with any questions.

Thanks! Beth

The prairie is not a land to tell its story easily. – Mary Taylor Young

A few weeks ago, my sweetie, Joe, went to a nerd convention.  I didn’t see him for days.  When he came back, he smelled funny and was gripping a tarot deck and a Wonder Woman hoodie in his hands.  They were both for me!  Woohoo!  During a break in the middle of Nerding, he’d gone to Tarot Garden’s table where last year I hung on every word that Dan Pelletier said.  (Also, where I found my Little Trees deck).  He spent some time talking to the person there and was all excited that he’d found a brand new deck for me – The Prairie Tarot.  When he first told me about it, I was not very impressed.  “A Tarot of the American West.”  Yee.  Haw.  I might have rolled my eyes a little bit. It’s possible.  I just couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound cheesy!  I kept picturing sallow faced preachers and over the top saloons.  Bleh.

Also, I really don’t like unconventional decks.  I can’t use the Osho Zen deck, Isha Lerner’s lovely deck is pretty, but I can’t use it.  Round cards, angel cards, oracle decks, etc. – meh.  I’m kind of a Rider Waite traditionalist.  I like how comforting my deck feels.  I know that if I pull *this* card it means *that*.   Anyway, I was afraid when I started flipping through this Prairie Tarot it would be like these.

I was SO mistaken.When I started surfing through the cards, my childhood came rushing back to me.  Laura Ingalls Wilder, John Wayne, Bonanza, Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill.   I remembered the buffalo wallows in Central Kansas, the sunflower fields, hanging out with my Grandpa while he worked on a combine in the middle of acres and acres of wheat.  Wow, did this deck touch a chord with me.  Nice job, Joe.

The artist is Robin Ator.  He’s the same artist who did the International Icon Tarot and the Ator Tarot.  To be honest, I hadn’t heard of his work before, but I’ve quickly become a fan.  I like both of these, but the Prairie tarot truly sings for me.  I like the broad spectrum of color.  The Hierophant is a study in browns and shadows, and the Three of Cups is bright and happy.  I like the familiarity of the cards, too.  We grew up learning about the West.  It was in our stories, on our televisions, and (however erroneously) in our history books.  This is our history, however flawed.   There is a certain amount of pride from this Kansas girl in seeing how prominently sunflowers shine in the Sun and Queen of Wands cards.  I know this imagery because it’s mine.  That is a pretty wonderful feeling.

I love the Wands – they’re mostly fenceposts.  Fences were so hugely important back then – boundaries were drawn and territories established.  People moved ever onward to discover new land and opportunity.  The Ace of Cups is a bird bath – those always make me smile.  The Ace of Swords is a huge thunderhead with lightning crashing down around a saber, and the Ace of Pentacles is a bronze/gold coin over a mountain top.  Talk about staying with the elements, yeah?

The card stock is really good.  They’re slick, but not off-putting.  I wasn’t afraid they’d go flying out of my hand like my Little Trees deck.  The size is good.  They’re a bit more narrow than my Shadowscapes and RW decks, but I have little hands (like a carnie) so that’s ok.I love that the backs of the cards are black.  They’ve got a wagon wheel and that’s it.  Not distracting at all.  There was no book with these, which works for me.  I like looking for details myself in new decks.  One of my methods is this:

She will tell you her secrets on a NEED TO KNOW basis. Stand down.

Find a seven year old who is curious about tarot cards.  Let her play with the cards for a half an hour or so and listen to what she says.  “The High Priestess knows more than she’s sharing, Mom…..the guy in the 7 of Swords is up to something….the lady in the 9 of swords can leave but she doesn’t know it….”.  Out of the mouths of my babies.    This deck is evocative enough to pull an emotional response out of my kiddo, and traditional enough that those emotional responses align beautifully with the RW interpretations.  Sweet.  There is an extra card in this deck, too!  The Jackalope card was a source of delight for both me and the Seven Year Old Swami.  We decided that the Jackalope is a rare and awesome creature, and if it came up in a reading, should be greeted with a high five.

I’ve given four readings so far with this deck.   Honestly, it was as if I’d had this deck for years.  The first reading that I gave was a phone reading, and when I described what the cards looked like, my sweet friend, Jenn, got it right away.  This is great for phone readings.  If I say, “The Three of Swords is a paper cutout with three sabers through it against a tree.” – you get that.  “The King of Swords looks like Robert Duvall as “the pissed off father” in any number of movies, but his hair is messed, there is a butterfly floating by and a leaf on the ground, so you know he’s going to be stern but fair and everything’s going to be ok.”

So, kudos to Joe for choosing such a great deck, and for Robin Ator for creating it.  Sometimes I wonder how difficult it would be to interpret every element and symbol while creating new deck of cards, and still give it your own flavor.  It’s quite an achievement to have each card maintain its integrity in the tarot and still resonate on a personal level with your artistic ideal.  This deck is really perfect for those who know the tarot well.  If you do get this deck, I hope you get the Jackalope in your reading.  I haven’t yet, but fingers crossed.

The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs. – Arthur Waite

A few months ago, I stumbled on this shiny, new website.  Little Red Tarot.  She’s sassy, curious and what a treat to read about someone starting their journey through tarot.  We swapped readings after I gushed all over her, and she’s pretty fantastic.  I’m happy to share that she has revamped her website and has a bunch of new treats for all of us.  Do check her out – and bonus!  her British accent is REAL.  I’m so jealous.  So this is me, pimping my friend.    Enjoy!

Little Red Tarot
Ethical, frank, action-focused Tarot readings

If you’re seeking guidance in any area of your life, a Little Red reading can help to illuminate your path. I offer ethical, down-to-earth, practical readings which aim to give you not a vision of the future, but a clearer idea of where you are now, how your actions impact on your situation, and what you might do to find answers to your questions and move forwards.

Visit littleredtarot.co.uk to find out more about Little Red and her down-to-earth and practical approach to Tarot can help you.

*Super-special autumnal offer!*
Until the end of November, you can order an in-depth reading for the mini-price of £12 (that’s about $18 in US money)! Just visit this page to order your reading, then email me as usual with your question.

With warm and cosy wishes on this chilly autumn day,

Little Red x
http://littleredtarot.co.uk/_____________________

What to expect from a Little Red Tarot reading

Every Tarot reader has a different style. From me you can expect a conversational, frank reading in a down-to-earth style, with clear guidance you can understand.

I will use the cards to examine your question in detail and will offer challenges and points for you to consider. I’ll say it like I see it, and convey to you what the cards are suggesting. Although I’ll make no attempt to dress things up, I’ll often turn difficult or challenging information into positive suggestions for action. The focus of my readings tends to be on examining where you are at the present, and suggesting approaches for moving forward and where these might lead.

I will create a spread tailored especially to tackle your specific question, and your reading will include links to images of the cards drawn to enable you to better understand what is discussed. I will read each card individually, and then give a summary of the message of the reading as a whole.

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Website: http://littleredtarot.co.uk/

Blog: http://littleredtarot.posterous.com/

Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams, Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you round. – William Butler Yeats

In this visual metaphor, the shell is my tarot package, and the egg is my deck.

I posted a while back about the Care and Keeping of tarot cards.  I briefly touched on my Tarot of the Trees deck (which I call my Little Trees deck.  Cuz it’s little, and has trees up on it.)  So, since then, the box that they came in started looking a little rough.  And then it turned into a flat piece of cardboard that I wrapped around my cards.  And then, I started wrapping a hair tie around them because they kept spilling out.  Yikes.  Reaching into a purse and pulling out the Seven of Swords along with a tube of Burt’s Bees and an old receipt is NOT the best way to take care of your cards, in my experience.  I am, however, a bit lazy and easily distracted, so there it sit.  My pretty new deck – covered in Those Things What Collect In One’s Purse.  Oy.

Right about this time, my friend, Mark, showed me a tarot box he’d made and asked if I’d like one.  Um, yeah.  Yes.  Yes, I would.  I handed over my Little Trees deck so he could use it for measurements and waited.  And waited a bit more.  I’m a Sagittarian – I hate waiting.  He took some pictures of my tattoos and a little bit later, I had this glorious thing with my cards all nestled inside.

It was made with intent and love and all good things.  It is gorgeous and wooden and has a little hinged lid thinger.  Gorgeous!  And very personal.  The vines are from a tattoo on my left arm, and the Fox is tattooed on my left bicep.

Isn’t it pretty?  Mark’s email is mrsilverwolf@gmail.com if you’d like to order one.  They’re just lovely and I can’t crow about them enough.  Here’s the cool thing, tho – here is the thing that I didn’t expect.  Having this case – which is beautiful and a treasure – makes me treat my cards differently.  Having this case placed on my shelf (out of the reach of my kiddos), made me treat the deck with more respect.  It’s not just something I pull out of my purse – it’s a process.  I think that being more deliberate in my approach to the cards made me more deliberate in my approach to reading them.  I hesitate to use the word ‘ceremony’, but that’s kind of what it felt like.  Weird, no?

Also, I can’t figure out how to fix the font.  SQUINT!

Man is a tool-using Animal…. Nowhere do you find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all. -Thomas Payne

I’m back!  Hi, how’s it going?  I had a very good and busy summer with my family and friends.  I did one reading for a friend and another party for a group of friends, and maybe ten readings per day at Pagan Picnic (instead of 30) - and that’s it.  Before the summer, I was doing readings nearly every day, so it was a bit weird to not have my deck in my hands.  I even stopped carrying cards with me in my purse.  This was met with shocked gasps and, “Oh my god, do you want to go back and get some?”, from my friends.  I’ve never not had a deck with me – not since high school.

How was it?  IT WAS GREAT.  Seriously.  My shifts at the Ms. Cleo line were from 10-midnight a few nights a week, and I have a number of clients that fill my free time in the weekend.  This summer?  Nothin.  I referred a lot of people to Suzi and Theresa (because they’re awesome) and then just let it go.

That’s something that was completely foreign to me.  I was a social worker in different ways for about twelve years before I started working from my home.  I’ve always had other people to care for.  I’ve always had other concerns and worries outside of my friends and family….and then – nothin.

A few weeks ago, I started to miss it.  I like doing readings – a lot.  I love learning about the cards and especially hanging out online with the ladies above and my other online prognosticators.  I missed that connection with people and being able to help.

I started doing readings for Ms. Cleo again about two weeks ago.  I’d take a call, pick up my cards and start talking and shuffling.  About three readings in, I noticed something different.  I was doing readings without using my cards.  Wha?  I was just playing with them and shuffling and shuffling.  The readings were just coming up out of my mouth without a glance at the cards I was holding.  And they were *accurate* and organic and…what the hell?  I’ve had random readings and insights forever, but I’ve never just given a reading – especially not over the phone.  Something like that takes touch or a close relationship usually.  Weird.

This weekend, I talked to Ellen Dugan - reader to reader – and asked her about this.  She saw what I didn’t (as usual) and pointed out that I’d rested all summer.  My ability was dormant for the first time in ever, and it came back stronger than ever.  We also discussed that it gets stronger when we’re pregnant, or angry, or emotional.  It’s nice to have an ear when you’re wondering about this stuff.  Especially someone who is so grounded.  So, I’m not crazy – that’s good to know- and I don’t have to use the cards.  Ok, then.

The problem with this, tho, is that I *like* using my cards.  They help me connect – but not too much.  They’re a wonderful tool for looking for a specific thing rather than just seeing the whole of the client.  That can be dizzying.  It becomes a needle in a haystack kind of reading.  Yes, there are romantic problems, but those are linked to family issues which are linked to children which are linked to outside stressors, etc.  If I have my cards, I look for romantic problems – what brought them, what defines them.  It narrows the focus so that I don’t give a forty-five minute reading for one question.

The cards work as a conduit of sorts – my tools.  I’m very picky about my tools, too.  I love using the Tarot of Trees and the Shadowscapes deck.  Sometimes I’ll pull out my first Rider Waite deck if I feel I need to get back to basics.  Sort of like an artist choosing their favorite brush – each of my decks has a different personality and feel to it.  I might have to do that for my next shift on the lines.  What is a tarot reader without her cards?  A psychic.  The problem is – I don’t know how to *be* a psychic.  I don’t know how to turn it on or off – I was picking thoughts out of my friend’s heads all weekend.  I don’t yet know how to fine tune it enough to give an accurate and brief reading without pulling all sorts of tangenital stuff out, too.  It’s also kind of a pain in the ass to have one sided conversations with people.

So, what now?  Now, I have this extra ability that I’m not going to use a whole lot.  It’s like the ‘talking to the dead’ thing.  I CAN do it.  I have.  But I don’t wanna.  I’m not the Ghost Whisperer, and it’s not my thing.  I don’t talk to spirit guides if I can help it, because they make me nervous.  I don’t look for angels, I don’t channel and I am *not* a psychic.

I am a tarot reader.  And I’m available for appointments. : )

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish. – John Jakes

I’m still taking the summer off, but this post is about my friend Theresa’s blog about her favorite blogs so it TOTALLY DOESN’T COUNT.  Still on vacation.  Honest.

Anyway, Theresa wrote this great blog about her 78 favorite tarot blogs and was nice enough to mention mine.  Which makes me feel a bit like a slacker, but I swear I’ll be posting again in September.

SO – here is the great post with lots of wonderful resources for the new or old tarot reader.  I knew some of these, but you’d better believe I bookmarked this post so I can check out the rest.  If Theresa says it’s good, it’s good.

http://blog.thetarotlady.com/

Thanks again to Theresa, and I hope you guys are having a great summer.  I know I am.

If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time. -Chinese proverb

A few months ago, I started the process to become a phone psychic.  Yes, like Miss Cleo.  No, my fake accent isn’t Jamaican, it’s British.  I have a good friend who makes his living doing this, and he’s said it was great, so I thought I’d give it a shot.  I got a great job with a very cool company, and started working.  The set-up was this – I have a day job that I’m able to do from home, I have two little monkeys running around, and they’re usually asleep by 9.  I worked “the Lines” from 9-midnight about four nights a week.

At least, that was the idea.  First, I got bronchitis.  Can’t do readings when you can’t speak and have 102 fever.  Then, I went to Texas to see my friend.  Then, my bronchitis rebounded.  THEN, we got huge storms, tornado warnings, terrifying winds =no internet/no phone.  THEN my phone and modem died.  This is all within three months, guys.  Three months at a new job, and I was missing more work than I’ve ever missed at all of my other jobs put together.  I have a strong work ethic.  My grandfather told me that if a person pays you to work, you do it, otherwise you’re stealing from them.  I take that pretty seriously.  Additionally, you’d think someone in my line of work would be more adept at looking at signs from the Universe.  Yikes.

One of the biggest problems was very basic; I was tired.  Soooo sleepy.  I don’t function well in daily life if I don’t get enough rest, but giving readings nearly every night on top of that was a bit much.  I’ve posted here about how I’m relearning the basics of what I do.  I’m learning how to ground and center.  I’m learning to let the readings go through me, and to use other energy than my own to process them.  I’m learning how to not hold onto readings.  Working the Lines was an excellent teacher here.  I would talk to anywhere from 3 to 12 people in one night.  A lot of people call because they’re lonely, because they need a sympathetic ear, because they’re hopeful or heartbroken, because they need direction.  It only took about two weeks for me to realize that I had to put the readings down after I finished, otherwise I would be carrying around dozens of people’s heartbreak and sorrow.  That’s a heavy load, and not mine to carry.

About two months in, I went to a gathering of like-minded people.  After talking about about what we do and who we are, I got my very first Rune reading from my friend, Allyson.  She has hematite runes, and after the reading, she saw that I was clutching two of them in my hands – both were protection runes.  Hematite?  I’ve always been drawn to it, but I thought it was because I’m a bit of a magpie.  I like shinies.  http://www.peacefulmind.com says this:

This crystal is the most recommended stone for grounding and is associated with the Root Chakra, it encourages ones survival instincts and is centering. Hematite condenses scattered feelings, turns fuzziness into mental clarity, enhances concentration, memory, practicality, helps those who study, do bookkeeping, detailed work and helps with sound sleep.  Considered the symbol of life energy, hematite allows for more confidence, will power and boldness. Helps us adjust to being physical. A protective stone and helps bolster low self-esteem. Hematite is known to deflect negativity. It restores equilibrium, stability and is also used for astral protection. It brings our awareness back to the body and helps one maintain their sense of self. If worn, Hematite should be placed near the base of the spine.

Did I mention that in my day job, I’m a bookkeeper/office manager?  And that I haven’t been sleeping well for…um, ever?  The next weekend was the St. Louis Pagan picnic.  I’ve been attending this picnic for ten years and I love it.  USUALLY, I’ll do about 25 readings on Saturday and 30 or so on Sunday.  After that, I would be completely fried and exhausted for about a week.  I’m not very smart sometimes, I swear.  This year, I did about 10 readings each day.  I spent a long time talking to Charlynn, who I’ve been lucky to know for a long time, and she was very encouraging.  We talked about how bloody tired I was all the time, about relearning the basics.  Char gave me a lot of wonderful advice and some excellent perspective on, well, everything, really.  It’s good to have friends who’ve known you for 10 years or so, they can see you so clearly.  Also, on the afternoon of the first day, another new friend, River Higginbotham, gave me a heart shaped hunk of hematite.  River and I met at the gathering, and I was completely tickled by his thoughtful gift.  I put it in my pocket and kept it there.  By Sunday afternoon, it had a crack all the way around it.  Ooops.

I started thinking, if the purpose of this stone is to protect, and I’ve busted it not 24 hours in, maybe I’m not taking very good care of myself.  (This is where you all release a collective, “DUH.”.)  I needed to reboot, and I couldn’t do that if I was working every night til the wee hours.  So, I talked to my sweetie a bit and some friends, and I quit.  Not precisely quit, but I called the Awesome Company (who were so supportive during all of the crazy) and asked to quit, and they asked if I could take a sabbatical instead.    Isn’t that cool?  SO, I’m taking the summer off.  I think I have one tarot party scheduled at the end of July, and I have one reading this week, but other than that, I’m taking a break.  I’m sleeping.  I’m playing with my kids and my friends.  I’m reading, watching movies and playing video games (yes, I’m a nerd).  I’m taking the summer off and I feel better already.  I got a gorgeous hematite bracelet from my lovely friend, Jenn, and I’m never taking it off.  I have a feeling if I keep taking care of myself, it will never break.  And neither will I.