General: Year Ahead Reading

General: Year Ahead 2009

1. Issue: Knave of Wands
2. Surroundings/Environment: 2 of Swords
3. Self: Ace of Wands
4. What to Keep: X Wheel
5. What to let Go: Queen of Wands
6. Direction to Take: King of Wands

Wands dominates this throw and this indicates a lot of growth for you in 2010. The one Major card that appears in the spread is also about growth and expansion.
Collectively, this is about the expansion of oneself and development in our personal being and actions. The year will be full of growth in all areas of life but you need to remember that with growth comes growing pains. You will be faced with challenges and hard times and this can be painful.
As the saying goes, 'what does not kill us only makes us stronger'

1 Issues position comes with the Knave of Wands card and speaks of ideas.

There are the ideas that you have been rolling around in your head. These are projects, goals, attitude adjustments, habit forming/breaking- things that have been in your mind, but have yet to take any action on. This could be called a card of 'resolutions'. Creating a list of all these ideas and then formulating a plan of action and bringing these ideas into a reality. What are your ideas? What have you been thinking about and would like to change or accomplish in the the physical, mental, and spiritual realms of life? This card encourages you to take your ideas and nurture them. Take the seed of an idea and plant it so that it will grow. Give it life with love and attention. Feed your ideas with the nourishment that it needs. This card is telling you that you have seeds that are very ready to be put into the ground so that they can sprout.

2 Surroundings card is the 2 of Swords.

This card speaks of those that speak before they see the bigger picture. People who are blind to reality or fair assessments. This is about people and situations where not everything is 'on the table' and there are aspects hidden that do not allow for a full review. Be aware of people who are judgmental.
They are of no help to you. Be aware of people who are not open-minded and like to argue, they will not really listen to you. Be aware of people who speak behind your back. This does not mean paranoid.
I am not saying that people ARE talking behind your back. What the card is asking you is to be aware of such activity if such a situation unfolds that would have others jealous or misunderstanding you and your actions. This card is about words that are not spoken clearly. This could be miscommunication, hidden communication, speaking one's mind before they have all the facts. These communication issues will be your walls and challenges and is critical to your growth. Do not allow these walls to stop you in your tracks. Do not give up when you come to a wall. You can bust through it, climb over, find another way around it or come back to it later. Do not leave a wall by giving up. Consider all solutions, look at the bigger picture. There will be solutions that you may not like, but they will have to be done. Try to not be complex in your solutions, keep things as simple and neat as possible. In an in the moment need, trust and have faith in your gut feelings. Go with your first impressions, do not second guess yourself.

3 The Self card is the Ace of Wands.

Ace cards are about newness, beginnings, births, the dawning of something. For you, this is a rebirth, a reinvention of the self, a new you. You mentioned in your email about 'out with the old and in with the new'. This is exactly what this card is about. Those ideas mentioned in the first card, this is planting the ideas and watching them grow. You need your incubation time, the time between the idea and the seeing the results of the idea. It is between the thought and the action. Now is the time to incubate, plan your reinvention, know your plan and how you will live your life as this new you.
This card advises you to keep a youthful eye upon things, this echoes the simple approach seen in the second card. Do not allow the misfortune and hardships of the past influence the decisions of the future. What has happened has happened and you cannot change the past, but you do have control over the future. Entering into a situation that is similar to one where it turned out bad, you cannot allow that to effect you. That is the old you. Enter into situations as if you are totally new to the whole thing. Take a youthful innocent approach. Do not be jaded by the past.

4 What to Keep card is the Wheel.

This is a card of expansion and good fortune.

I am also feeling a sense of family, friends, and community.

This is expressing the need to keep these people that you have a connection with close to you. These are the people who will help and support you. This card also says that those friends and family and people in your community that can help you needs to be expanded. Perhaps you are not getting out as much as you should. So to add to that, be careful to not become a hermit.  Pull these people closer to you. The y have knowledge and skills that will help you through your time of growth and give you inspiration.
There is also something in your family tree. There is something about yourself that you wonder about since it is not something that seems to fit in to the rest of your immediate family. There is a way about you that is just not the norm and this leaves you with questions about why you are the way you are. This could be some physical feature, but more likely it is something about your personality and who you are within. Usually every family has one member that has researched the family tree, find such a person in your family and ask them questions. If you don't have anyone like that, perhaps that is something you may consider looking into. Many things can be understood about ourselves by knowing the people that came before us and who they were and what they had to endure.
(and example would be my dislike for organized religion- I have two different branches in my family tree of religious rebels, in England and several hundred years earlier in France - leaning that made my dislike understandable, it is 'in the blood')

5 What to Let Go card is the Queen of Wands.

This is a very motherly card and many things are coming to me with this that it is hard to sort out so I am just going to ramble along and maybe something will ring a note with you. This letting go deals with a 'mother' issue and energy. It could be a mother/daughter conflict that you will have to finally come to terms with and walk away from even if unresolved for there is nothing that you can do about it now. To dwell upon it is a waste of energy and is taking away from the energy that you need to grow.
I see nurses. Could it be that you are training or working as a nurse or perhaps your mother has been ill? It could be that 2010 could be the year that your ill mother will find eternal peace, perhaps it is the year that you take your nursing job to a different hospital or doctors office, or take your training in a new direction? Perhaps you got into nursing because it was 'easier' but you really wanted to work with animals... perhaps you have been living your life according to your mothers desires and not living the life you want for fear of disappointing your mother. Well, you are in a time of growth and renewal, a time of change, you are in control. Perhaps you have been trying to get pregnant and now is not the time, or it may be that you are not to have children. While we have free will, I do feel that there is also fate and that somethings not matter how much free will we exert, are just not meant to be. What ever it is that deals with a nurturing mother energy, is what you are to let go of and move on from.
Now I also wonder, do you feel that you have a spirit presence near you? perhaps your mother (or grandmother you where close to) has already passed and is trying to communicate something to you to help you and that she will not move on until she has told you and you have listened and understand.

6 The Direction card is the King of Wands.

This is a card of seeing the big picture, being in control and holding what is near and dear and useful close to you. This card sums up all the other cards and the message within them. This is a card that tells you to rule your roost, it is your life and your future, live it for yourself and for no-one else (of course if children are involved, then we must live to be there for them). The King tells you to have no interest in those people who speak to you in defeating words. There is a difference in constructive criticism and outright put downs. You do not need these peoples input. Do not give them your time. There are so many other bright and inspiring individuals in your life that these people should be tossed to the side, they are not part of your circle.
While you have many who do offer you sound advice and suggestions, remember that in the end, the decision is yours and yours alone. Do what YOU think you should do. You may be wrong, but you will learn and grow from these mistakes.
Also, do not allow any guilt to push you in a bad direction. This goes back to not letting the pains of your past effect the actions you take in the future. Be wise with your experience of the past, do not make the same mistakes, but also do not make a move because it lead to a bad situation in the past - to NOT make that same move, you could be missing out on something great.
A lame example, but a common one, would be- a blind date. All your blind dates have been flops, don't stop accepting blind dates because of this, mr right could be found on a blind date....lame example but hopefully you get the idea.
So the new you will not act and react like the old you. You are full of joy and youthful appreciation, you are being reborn. Hold the memories as memories only, they are your wisdom that is within the new you that you did not have before. This wisdom enlightens you and aids you in living a bright a peaceful life. 

Process Of The Perfect Tarot Bag

I am a crafty person in all forms of the word. I am an artist and crafter, I work magic, and read tarot cards. Combine all that and of course my decks are stored in bags I have made. 

It all started when I received a used deck that had no original box. I needed something for the deck to protect it. I had some mass produced bags and used one but did not like how the deck slid around inside the bag. I wanted a bag that was more like the box that the cards came in.  

I sat down and measured the deck. With that I created a pattern. Then came choosing the fabric. OH BOY...that was fun but difficult. SO many options and combinations! How would I choose? No problem, I just made the bag to be reversible so that I could enjoy two different fabric combinations.

This was the birth of my '2 in 1' tarot bags.

The Sacred Circle Tarot Deck

Making a bag to perfectly match a deck is a process that I really enjoy. It is fun playing with different combinations of fabric and holding the deck up to the combinations to see how it all fits together.

Come with me as I share with you the process of making a custom fitted, made to match bag for one of tarot decks ~ 
The Sacred Circle.



Finding the right combinations of fabric~
I have a whole cupboard of fabric. After putting different fabrics into different piles and then narrowing it down, this is what I am left with.... That is a lot when I have to bring it down to only four!

                                                                                      Here is a close up of the cards from the Sacred Circle deck. They are what I used, putting them up to all the different fabrics to see how well everything matches, fabrics and cards.

STAR SPACE FABRIC ?

BATIK SPIRAL FABRIC ?

OK- On to something here.... I like the Moons!

I got it down to four fabrics and cut out the pieces.  I picked the gold moons on a black background for it went well with the backs of the cards. For the top of the bag, moons and stars but in all black; a satin fabric with velvety moons and stars. The deck's art has a very earth nature theme so I pick a green leafy patterned fabric. 

The top of this side I used a favorite fabric of mine, the acorns. 

The bag of my Legends deck also has this same fabric.  

I sewed the 'moon' pieces together and the 'nature' pieces together and fit them together and pin them to hold the two in place when I do the final stitching.

Once sewn together, I insert two pieces of rat-tail cord and tie them off...
....put the deck inside and pull the strings!
AND THE BAG IS DONE

11:11 Are You an 11er?

It is amazing the number of people who have 11:11 specifically makes its way into their lives.Some recognize it to represent something significant, but do not know what that is yet they know it means something. Some will make a wish, some think it's just a sign saying all is OK. Some will encounter the number and disregard it or say it is nothing, just random. They might say that is is something in the mind that makes one notice it more often and it is nothing supernatural or magical.
 There is another group of people who believe that they know what the number represents and have sent their beliefs out into the world. Some of those thoughts; the number is a ‘gateway’ number or a function of humanities spiritual evolution, a message from angels, a DNA activation code. 
I fall into the category of knowing that it is significant, yet I do not know what it means. When I come across the number, I feel that it is telling me that I am doing things right in life, I’m on the right track so to speak. I have also come across the idea that it is a number that is presented to all the light-worker/healers upon the earth at this time. With my personal experience, I can sort of resonate with this. I have always been there to help one who is hurt, being physical, emotional or spiritual.
One, of the many things I have found regarding 11:11, here is one that I really like


I first encountered the number 1111 when I was 11, imagine that! I joined a scout troop and that was our troop’s number. It meant nothing to me at the time. I also am a child of the dawning of the digital age. My first digital wristwatch I got for Christmas when I was about 9 or 10. I probably saw 11:11 back then, but did not connect with it since I had no use for knowing time at that age. To this day I still do not wear a watch.


When I was 12, my mom told me about something that started with her fiancé. He was waiting with his brother for a table at a cafe, he looked at his digital watch and saw that it was 11:11. He made a comment about how often he sees 11:11. His brother mentions that he had been seeing the number quite often as well. They thought it odd and left it at that. My mom’s fiancé came home that night and told my mother about the number and the conversation with his brother. That is when it all started for her. She started to see the number quite often and when she told me the story, I started to ‘recognize’ the number.This sort of supports the idea that it is something in the mind, power of suggestion. The idea that it is mentioned to someone and subconsciously they start to be drawn to it. This does not fully apply in my experience. I was wearing this number before the time aspect was presented to me. That is why I say recognize, because the number came to me before I noticed it to be something more common among others.I was no longer in girl scouts so I had not connected my old troop number to this yet, that would come several years later when getting ready for a move and I had to pack the things in my closet. I was quite in awe that day and that sparked and even deeper curiosity on a personal level.
 The number 11:11 would show itself very often. There would be times when I was in no need to know the time, yet, I was drawn to look at the clock. Again one could say that it was a subconscious thing, but try to use that logic for the times when I would be driving along the highway and a billboard clock would say 11:11. I also worked at a business and the address was 1111. Then there are the ticket numbers, the receipts, the flight number....

...and on and on.

How is this explained?

One could say, it’s just a number, like 3:33 or 5:55, when in reference to time, and these same numbers can be repeated in other things for certain individuals. I do not see other patterned numbers at such volume as I do 11:11. What I have found is, that even though people do see these repeated numbers, it is 11:11 specifically that gets the most attention and is the most often seen and talked about. I have ventured into a few ‘spiritual’ communities in www world, and the number seems to be discussed more than any other multiple digit number with the possible exception of 666.
 

I am not surprised that the first time I ‘connected’ to 11:11 was when I was 11. It may have been 1 year 11 months and 1 day, from that first encounter to the second, for all I know and if it was, I would not doubt it. The patterns that are presented to us are amazing when you look for them. To this day I still see the number, quite often. I am always running into other people who also have a connection to this number.

Long ago, my mother sent me an email with the time-stamp of. . . . .11:11. I emailed her back and told her - look there is the 11:11, she emailed back a comment and that time stamp was 1:11, not quite the same, but it goes on. I emailed her back, again, pointing out the time, again, she replied again, at 2:22. Since then, there have been other emails that are time stamped 11:11 between us.

So while it may not be just 11:11, it still hold something over the other numbers. But these other numbers and patterns that people notice are just as valid, they just have something different to it. People who notice these numbers will say that it is meaningful to them, even if they do not know what it means. 
At this moment in my life I cannot say what the 11:11 phenomena is about. There are some things that seem to make more sense to me than others. But I have not come to any solid knowing of what 11:11 means as a whole. It may be possible that all of these theories have some truth to them, none of the theories have a premise that is malicious or detrimental to any persons peace of mind or physical liberties.

Of all the many things that I have found that 'explain' 11:11, this is one I really can appreciate 

The 11:11 Universal and Spiritual Laws of the Cosmos