“A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does”
― Dan Millman
Finding the love in what you do is easier sometimes than it is at others. Obvious yes but still how often do we miss the obvious because it doesn’t fell like it is worth stating? I love making art. I love writing poetry. I love thinking about thing I have never thought of before or thinking of an old thing in a new way. I love walking in nature. I love meditating. I love reading. I love talking to really amazing people both online and off and learning from them. I love music. I love exploring the nature of the All and of love. It has brought more joy to me than I can say that I’ve been able to do so many of the things that I love this past year or two and I feel like I have been touched by a unique grace.
Then there are the necessities, the things we don’t necessarily love that we have to do. Like cleaning the bathroom or washing the dishes or laundry. You can add to the list dealing with loved ones when they’re cranky or having serious questions with people who don’t want to climb out of their box even to look into mine. Yet still with some effort I can get those done. While cleaning I can engage in a conversation with myself about myths or legends or the nature of love. I can listen to an audiobook or I can make a game of the cleaning. Just how clean can I make that toilet? I can write an ode to the leftover pasta sauce on the underside of the bowl I can think of the faces of all those I love or recite a theme song to a 60’s television show. I can find the joy or the love in what I do. Oh its not always easy. You know what else isn’t easy? Anything you fail to try to do.
Blessings, G
Each step has been learned
In crafty self-expression
Discipline pays off.
Honing my craft
Designing new ways to design
creating new ways to create
it’s all self-expression.
Can I make what I contain
both beautiful and useful?
Can I present
what I know
in a way that awakens
knowledge and appreciation
in others as well?
Each day brings something new
either realization or lesson
but how do I know it
until I can show
through my creation
my understanding
of what I’ve learned?
The suit of Pentacles refers to the element of Earth and of practical matters such as money and partnerships both of a business nature and of the home. They can also represent nature, the Earth itself as well as our bodies. Eights deal with recognition of boundaries and a focus of the energies to move on and continue. How do we manifest the talents and abilities that we carry within us? There are so many ways such writing, art of all various kinds, crafts, and engineering just to name a few. No matter which one we choose, there is a period of time during which we must train ourselves in the form of that expression. By becoming ever more proficient and disciplined in the forms, we give ourselves the freedom to then experiment and take them to new places, expanding the medium to better express our perceptions.
Astrological Correspondence – Sun in Virgo – The Sun in Virgo energy is one of analysis, self-examination and fine-tuning in every aspect of its being. One of the key words involved with this energy is responsibility and its focus will ever be on improving and making a good thing better. At times this may mean getting caught up in the details to the exclusion of the big picture. The Sun in Virgo energy also tends to be very self-contained, so busy exploring and expressing the interior of its existence that it has little need of exterior influence being complete in and of themselves. People with this energy tend to have a strong connection to the physical world and have amazing bodily awareness.
I Ching Correspondence – 62) Hsaio Kuo – Preponderance of the Small –
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The trigram of Thunder is over that of the Mountain. When thunder is in the mountains, it tends to echo and so feel a lot closer. It takes discipline to focus on making your way through the storm and get where you’re going rather than be daunted by the noise. This sense of focus on the immediate may seem over detailed or petty to others and yet it gets the job at hand done. This hexagram speaks a lot about self-moderation and discipline and how easily both of these things may be overturned by letting externals pull our focus.
When the Eight of Pentacles comes up in a reading, it can indicate that it is a time of great creativity and self-expression as long as we are receptive both to what our inner self wishes to communicate and to the means by which we are communicating it. It may also refer to a time when a tighter focus is needed. If we pay attention to the details, eventually we will be able to reconnect to the bigger picture. This may be true in our relationships as well as business and other practical relationships. The Eight of Pentacles may also be saying that it is time to buckle down and pursue one’s goals as it is possible through focus to attain them.
When the Eight of Pentacles turns up reversed, it may mean that we are paying to much attention to details and missing the big picture. Circumstances may have changed and what has been working for us until now may no longer be helpful. We need to step back and take a wider perspective on things before continuing. It is tempting when our efforts are not paying off to grow frustrated but the Eight of Pentacles reversed may be suggesting that patience is needed. Another meaning of this energy reversed may mean that rather than doing something step by step the way we always have, it may be time to think outside the box.
“Great artists make the roads; good teachers and good companions can point them out. But there ain’t no free rides, baby. No hitchhiking. And if you want to strike out in any new direction — you go alone. With a machete in your hand”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
There’s a difference between being lonely and being alone and its a key one. As much as I enjoy company and genuinely enjoy speaking with others, at times especially while creating, thinking or meditating I crave solitude. Those are the times that even if I have gone where others have I am still blazing my own trail. The territories of the mind, heart, spirit and imagination are infinite and while there is a lot of cross-overs each passageway is unique. We can admire the path that someone else has made but we cannot take it as our own, they’ve paid for it with their experiences and those are unique to each.
After we have journeyed for awhile, it is fun to call a friend in to show them what we have found on the passageway as it is to see what they have found. Since we create our trail as we go, we can never know when we will use something given to us by another. Each item whether internal or external is sacred. Eventually the trails will converge with lifetimes of experiences shared by all.
Blessings, G
“Bottom line is, even if you see ’em coming, you’re not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can’t help that. It’s what you do afterwards that counts. That’s when you find out who you are.”
― Joss Whedon
We’ve all had them. Maybe we didn’t recognize them at the time but all of a sudden we look up and everything has changed. I call them cusp moments, tho they can also be called crossroad moments or twilight moments or any other metaphor that catches your mind. It could be a parent’s death or a graduation ceremony. It almost always is when you lose your virginity. It could involve a bad breakup or an accident. It could even be a peak experience. However it happens in one fell swoop every map of reality that you have gets systematically erased. You look around you at places and people that were once familiar and you see strangers and strange places.
When this happens you can freak out and scramble towards anything that reminds you of your past and try as best as you can to recreate your own map or you can look at everything with the wonder of a child. You can be free to draw a new map with each new thing in front of you that you see with your new eyes. It can be the best thing ever.
I have spoken before about how every moment can be a new starting point and it can. You may not be able to force either a traumatic or a peak experience but you can consciously and willfully toss out your existing maps and look at your life and your environment with new eyes as if you’ve never seen it before. Redefine your relationships with everything and anything in front of you. Feel free to explore and learn and grow. Grab a hold of the potential new beginning that every moment brings
Blessings, G
“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
― Alan Wilson Watts
When too much is going on in my head, doing more or finding more to think about rarely helps. I have to sit with what’s there and let it gradually either fade or sink to the bottom. When I’m feeling frustration or impatience, I don’t find it helpful to dwell on the source of these emotions. That just adds fuel to the fire. It also doesn’t help to tell myself that I shouldn’t feel what I’m feeling. That adds guilt to the list. If I sit with whatever the emotion is, letting myself feel it, even watching myself feel it as much as possible and I find it start to dissipate. It feels quite a bit like muddy water looks when it settles, a clearing thats gradual at first and then picks up speed until only a few traces of the cloudiness remain. After the emotion has gone, I can look at causes and reasons and perhaps come to a dispassionate understanding. At the very least I can do it from a perspective of peace and calm.
Blessings, G
“If anyone shows us the ceiling, We’ll show them sky”
— Steve Roggenbuck
Many people are all to happy to not only post their limits but show us ours as well. “If you want to get along in this world you must always act in a friendly fashion.” “Don’t bit off more than you can chew.” We end up with the best of intentions discouraging our own dreams before others can do it for us. They do it with the best of intentions. They don’t want to see us disappointed if we do not succeed in our dreams. Stay realistic we are told, dream big but not too big. Why? I would rather be hurt reaching for a dream and failing than ever limiting myself by not trying at all. Go outside look at the sky. Do you see a limit on how high you can reach? We are supposed to be limitless beings and we are. It is only when we accept ceilings that we get stuck. Don’t look at ceilings, look at the sky.
When you reach for your dreams, know what happens? You just may rise higher than you dreamed and if you fall so what? Your new floor (starting place) will be the high side of their ceilings.
Blessings, G
Trapped by unknown fear
Freedom awaits opened eyes
Terror melts away
Tied at my own direction
Doing things for my own protection
not what I want
but I aim to please
they like me when I’m on my knees
or that’s what I feel
tho its not real.
If I live only
by another’s choice
If I refuse to use my voice
within my trap I start to smile
roped and chained I can revile
those to whom I give the key
hell its easier than being free
So the victim by distraction
of my chosen interaction
could free myself by sight or sword
but really where in that’s reward?
fulfilment I might have to claim
if all others lose the blame
— G A Rosenberg
The suit of Swords represents thought, ideas, plans and conflicts. Eights deal with recognition of boundaries and a focus of the energies to move on and continue. What happens when thoughts and conflicts get in the way of moving on? We finally have decided to leave our past behind and move on to something new. We gird ourselves to take the first steps. The phone rings. A friend of ours needs our help with a trivial matter. We talk them through it and get ready to get to work. The dogs start barking or the kids need to be picked up at school. We’ll take care of that and get right to what we need to get done. Hmmm, maybe just check our Facebook first. What? How could he say that? After a heated engagement, we once again return and it’s time to make supper. And so it goes. Wow the whole day has gone by and so little has gotten done? If only there weren’t all these distractions. If only our friends and family could look out for themselves then we could be done with this project already. That is the Eight of Swords energy. We can break our way out of these cycles anytime we want by claiming a space to do the things we need to do and yet we avoid taking the responsibility to do so. This energy also pertains to anytime we use others or our past as an excuse to avoid doing what needs to be done.
Astrological Correspondence – Jupiter in Gemini – Jupiter in Gemini energy wants to expand all at once in as many different directions as possible. It is highly energized and fantastic at communication and at starting things but quite often there will be a problem with either focus on one idea or follow through even if the focus can be found. Quite often it gives us a wide reach but not a far one. In this case as in many others, the inherent problems of the aspect also come with a gift. While focus may be a problem, the Jupiter in Gemini energy does show discernment into what is a minor issue and what is not, allowing us to perceive real issues as opposed to petty concerns.
I Ching Correspondence – 21) – Shi He – Biting Through (Eradicating)
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The trigram for Fire is over that of Thunder. Lightning when it follows Thunder removes what is in its path. Likewise when we feel obstacles in our way, we may just have to bite down resolutely and get through them. Most of the obstacles we find in our path are minor and easily pushed aside. This becomes more difficult when the obstacles are the every day kind that are presented by family and friends either wanting our time or attention. However in order to get something done, we have to bite down (bite the bullet) and be resolute. Sometimes with our loved ones this means being compassionate but firm. We don’t wish to dissolve the relationships just free up our time so that we can get the task done
The Eight of Swords in a reading often points out that we are letting ourselves get distracted from what we need to do by minutiae both internal and external. People quite often with the best of intentions might be getting in our way either with advice (either giving or receiving) or with favours that need doing. The distractions may be internal as well as external and this card can often be a call to focus on the important things, freeing ourselves from the things that seek to bind or distract us. When we do find other things or people pulling focus, it is often human nature to blame them rather than taking responsibility for our own choices. This card may also mean that we have doubts that we can get the job done even to the point of pretending we don’t care.
When the Eight of Swords turns up reversed in a reading, it may mean that we are too focused on the task at hand and need to take a break to return with fresh eyes. It can also mean an even stronger sense of avoiding responsibility and refusing to do what is expected of us even by ourselves. It may mean that we have stopped blaming others for our inability to get things done and have taken the bull by the horns.
“From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines.”
― Walt Whitman
Since I talked about courage last night, tonight I thought for sure I’d be speaking about brains or a heart or even i ride in a balloon but it looks like there is more to say about freedom. Walt Whitman knew of the imaginary lines we draw or have drawn for us out of the good intentions for others, defining who we are and the appropriate paths our lives and or conversations might take. Oh one or two of those lines, we are told, will show us direction and it won’t feel so bad or be so heavy, rather like silk. But then once we allow those first chains (let’s call them the minimum) , those of parents and school / society, it becomes all too easy to start accepting more until what was once silk has become steel or wired ropes that bind and constrain until we end up bound in our actions and thoughts.
What happens when we chafe under these constraints and our lives feel like we’re sleepwalking in a role written for quite a different actor than we find ourselves to be. We can free ourselves but first we need to acknowledge the chains are there and look at each one determining where it came from and being willing to put it aside. The first ones are easy to take off. The hardest ones are the ones that have been there the longest for it is all too easy to confuse them with the free self. Oh they can come off and perhaps our resolution for them to do so is either our truest measure or the measure of our truth.
Blessings, G
Queen of the Fractal Glade by G A Rosenberg
