Category: locksmithing

Weekly Reading, July 5, 2021

Fireworks, Darkness, and Everything in Between

The Fourth of July. Fireworks. But what are we celebrating? Colonialism? Do we have to? No we don’t. We can choose to take make our own fireworks display and illuminate injustice, and also illuminate our own paths to healing. And we can call on the help of two literary witches to do so.

Audra Lorde – whom I’ve used to represent Justice in the past, used her influence as a literary force to illuminate the truth. We have seen the truth brought to light in the most graphic and traumatic resurfacings lately through the literal unearthing of mass graves. Two near past “residential schools” for first nations children in Canada, and the mass grave near Tulsa Oklahoma as long awaited evidence of the gruesome Tulsa massacre.

It is important to use our fireworks, our light to illuminate the truth. Until we do so we cannot see who we really are as a people. Until we do so we cannot even see the wounds that we all need to work together to heal.

So then what? We rip off the bandaid, and see the gruesome wounds underneath. How do we heal, and with what medicine?

Lets ask Sylvia Plath who knew a thing or two about the dark. Sylvia used the dark to create, and while her creative process may not have created light for her, it did create light for others. The wounds she endured gave her a perspective that not too many others are capable of. We should use that perspective and persevere in our own healing processes, both as a society and personally. The veins from which we bleed also unite us. They form roots from which we are all connected.

Rumi said “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” Let the light from the fireworks illuminate that which you could not yet bring to your awareness in the past.

And finally, there is no light without the contrast of darkness. Use the light as a way to understand the outlines of darkness, and the darkness as a way to understand the boundaries of the light.

Fireworks indeed!

Weekly Reading, June 27, 2021

Grace

What is Grace? This week I consulted a new tome. It’s called Animal Totems and the I Ching by Brynja Magnusson. It also coveres correlations between the I Ching and the concepts of Human Design and Gene keys, but to be honest with you I wasn’t ready for that yet, so I stuck to the I Ching and animal totems. And for good measure I chose a card from the Tarot of the Divine to contrast with.

I Ching: I threw the pennies 6 times and ended up with the hexagram for Grace and Beauty – #22 with no changing lines. I looked up this meaning in both the book referenced above and the Visionary I Ching by Paul O’Brien.

To the I Ching, at least the translations I’ve consulted, grace and beauty are superficial. They make our quality of life better, but are best used in small matters, whereas more “important” matters required more “careful consideration”. Subsequently some references are made to the dancer wearing the choreography, or the musician taking on the the composition. For the record I wholeheartedly disagree. I think if you are making art on the surface you already have a lot more depth underneath.

The animal totem associated with Grace is the Swan, easily traversing the surface of the water. But instead of leaving the depths of the water below to others, or more important matters, the grace of the swan allows it to be elegant, kind, and open to divine influence. In many ways Grace can be seen as the ability to free yourself to allow the spirit of the divine to work through you. And that’s not superficial.

It’s not about having all of the knowledge or being the Hierophant, its about having grace, and dare I say humility enough to to connect yourself and others to the divine.

Lastly, I draw on the story behind the Two of Swords in the Tarot of the Divine which tells the story of Sita through the Hindu Epic Ramayana. Sita was found to be unmatched in beauty and grace, and attracted many suitors. Her father found a worthy suitor in Rama, but a demon king named Ravana kidnapped her because Rama had defeated many demons. Rama was eventually able to defeat Ravana, but there were many rumors about Sita and what went on while she was with Ravana.

Sita, in order to prove her own innocence volunteered to go through a trial of fire. Because she showed grace literally under fire, the god Agni protected her, and her innocence was proven. In this case Grace can be strength, not just a superficial expression of beauty, and not only a tool to be used in small matters.

But as always I leave you to your own thoughts, and the ability to open yourself, through grace, to the answer you were already ready to receive.

Weekly Reading, June 20, 2021

Happy Summer Solstice!

The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year which is also symbolic of having the most light to shine on your present situation. In the Spring we may have planted seeds and those seeds have started to grow. The Solstice is a time to reflect on which direction that growth may be going in, and if our intentions are still as strong as they were in the spring.

For this reading I am using a new deck for me – The Santa Muerte deck by Fabio Listrani. You might be wondering why I didn’t save this for fall, or something closer to the Day of the Dead. However I think if we just see skeletons and assume we are talking about a particular time of year we are missing the point of this deck and the deeper meanings behind Santa Muerte itself. It is a celebration of life, and the figures in it are stripped down to their core. How can you shine more light on the state of things in your present moment than that? I plan on using this deck to help others celebrate life through the readings we receive.

The Page of Chalices is someone who is curious and reflective, and may be looking for the right way to express themselves spiritually. They are open and curious and are always asking why, but they may be surrounded by many who want to give them a wide variety of answers. They have to find the answers for themselves through dedicated study on their own, and the danger is that they get distracted by illusions that give them easy answers.

The 5 of Pentacles is one of the attributes of the physical world, and the number that corresponds to the Major Arcana archetype of the Hierophant. The Hierophant walks the path in order to connect with the present moment, and therefore the knowledge of the universe and the collective subconscious. In many decks the 5 of pentacles represents either being left out in the cold ourselves, or the need to help others who have been left behind. In this deck the 5 of pentacles is the physical act of walking the path of the Hierophant. Putting one foot in front of the other in a diligent and mindful way toward the future.

The 7 of chalices represents the feeling of hope and energy toward establishing new and innovative ventures. The blue flowers planted in the summer are now blooming and a new vine of white flowers is reaching into the picture to add new hope and energy to the mix. This energy and hope is abundant and may be resulting in many choices. Its probably a good outcome for the Page of chalices.

OVERALL MESSAGE: If you walk your own path and find your own answers you will have many good choices later on. Take this solstice to examine if that is the case for you presently. If you go for easy answers and let others decide things for you, not only will you be lacking as many choices later, the choice may have already been made for you.

Weekly Reading, June 13, 2021

Trying to do too much at once?

This week I’m sharing a portion of a clarity reading I did for myself. The beginning of the spread is about what is distracting you and what to focus on instead. For my reading I got the Emperor as a distraction, and the Four of Crystals, (which is normally the suit of swords representing mental attributes.). The Four of crystals in the Voyager deck is called Logic.

It would be easy to assume that the Emperor is a male authority figure, but I get the Emperor a lot in my readings and it usually represents me. This is the benefit of getting to know yourself through multiple readings. One might even say it brings clarity. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

So if I’m the Emperor, what’s the distraction? This I intuited from the follow on card of the Four of Crystals. Interestingly enough, the four of crystals relates to the Emperor since the Emperor’s number is four. This card brings the idea of organization and structured thinking, or placing raw ideas in a pattern or structure so you can see each one and its relationship to the other ideas before deciding what to do next. It’s the ability to make a clear judgement on something.

From this reading for me the message is don’t try to improve all areas at once, or implement all ideas at once. Take a beat to organize and look for patterns before proceeding, and the best path forward may seem clearer, or less overwhelming.

It’s a reading that can apply in many situations, where can you use the Four of Crystals to bring clarity this week?

Weekly Reading, June 6, 2021

Under Pressure

The arrows are a tough road, its the road of the mind, and it can get a little dicey. In the 8 of arrows from the Brady deck we have several scrub jays pummeling a hawk with words and sometimes even nips of the beak. Not only that but it looks like 8 arrows have come from below the hawk, so it feels like its being attached from above and below.

Do you feel like you are being overwhelmed by the words of others, or by the information coming at you from the news or social media? Maybe you are just overwhelmed with an abundance of ideas and are not sure where to focus.

In any case this week’s reading seems to be trying to answer that, and it offered three options. Before I dive into the options I would remind the reader that the major arcana that corresponds to 8s of any suit is Strength, and I’m not talking just about physical strength. The first place to look in any difficulty is your own inner strength and council. Quiet your mind and find your center and then proceed accordingly.

The first option seems a little harsh. It appears the advice is to burn down the tree that you are standing on. Does that really get rid of the source of the arrows or the words though? I would think not. This is what I would call the nuclear option, and I would only use it if you are ready to take a journey to a new eco-system entirely.

Usually when I see the tower card it represents letting go of what no longer serves us. If that is the true source of the noise from the scrub jays and/or the arrows then by all means, burn down the tree and start over. But if that is not the root of the problem, then the problem will just move to the next tree with you.

Here is an interesting option. Make peace with the birds, or at least one of them. Create a union of opposing forces by uniting them with a common purpose or goal. The squawking may turn to harmony or even downright singing. It seems like a better option than burning down the tree no?

Give it a shot! See the eagle? Its a divine spirit that is presiding over the union of the whooping cranes. If you can’t think of a purpose with which to unite those in opposition look for an eagle who has already done this and seek their advice.

A third option….master the arrows. Use discipline, insight, and emotional detachment to understand what each arrows purpose is and where you can use it to your benefit. This Mother of Arrows knows that one of the arrows can be used to open a gourd and feed her young ones.

Organize the arrows and learn about each one, then master the use of each one and use the arrows as tools. Once you have done this the birds will become curious and will want to learn the tools too.

I’m sure these aren’t the only options in this scenario, and if one of these doesn’t speak to you, then I encourage you do your own reading and find one that works for you.

Weekly Reading, May 31, 2021

Grief and Sorrow and how to Breakthrough

This week’s reading was done using the Voyager Tarot by James Wanless in which the 6 of Cups represents Sorrow. Sorrow is a result of an emptiness from the past which could be due to a reversal, a separation, or a loss. It is usually a deeper feeling for us than just being disappointed by something in our daily lives, sometimes its very deep and is even grief.

There are many views on how to overcome sorrow. Sorrow is not necessarily depression. Sorrow is attached to a specific event from our past that left us feeling empty, represented by the vase overturned with purple flowers of grief pouring out. We need to feel sorrow and process grief, but we can not stay there, and some of us have a very hard time letting go of sorrow. Its one of the main reasons we are attached to our past and cannot live in the present moment. We might feel that letting go of sorrow means we are ok with what happened to us to feel so empty.

This reading offers a strategy of changing your perspective on letting go of sorrow. On the one hand The Hanged Man can be referring to the reversal itself. But then for me the Breakthrough represented by the 7 of Worlds afterward does not make sense intuitively. The Hanged Man represents a transformation through a reversal or a different perspective, one could even say an upside down perspective. It is the possibility of achieving a breakthrough from sorrow in an unpredictable way, or we could say in a way you haven’t looked at or tried yet.

The Hanged Man achieves transformation through passive surrender and not forceful resistance. In order to achieve this breakthrough, this release, we must transcend the ego and achieve a greater connection with the universe, or a higher power. It is a gradual letting go of this sorrow to join the present moment, which is the only place we get to connect with the universe.

It sounds so simple, but may take study, perseverance, and patience to achieve. If this is a reading that speaks to you I encourage you to be patient with yourself, and start to learn what the Hanged Man perspective might be that will help you.

Weekly Reading, May 23, 2021

The Wide World of Wands

Wands are the suit in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot which represent Fire/Spirit/Creativity. I think if we think of a wand initially it seems like an inaccessible magical object. But what I would like to explore this week are the wands, or tools, that we already have in our possession, and how they might be used to create, heal and inspire ourselves, our teams, and our communities.

I’ve chosen the Ace of Wands from four different decks to start this exploration. The aces of any suite represent the essence of that suit in its purest form, so what better way to explore the wands?

In many Native American cultures feathers are used to purify the spirit in ceremony. Many times this is done as part of a smudging ceremony where sage or another herb is burned, and the smoke wafted over those participating in the ceremony using a feather or feathers. For this reason feathers are the suite normally reserved for wands in the Brady Tarot.

This Ace of Feathers is entitled Inspiration and portrays a potential awakening, or an ah-ha moment. Imbued with fire and struck by lightning, this wand carries a powerful blessing and may be able to create or also destroy. We also use feathers to write stories which can have this sort of power.

What is the tool you use to inspire others? Are you aware of its power and what impact it can have?

What other tools do we find in nature? I think we could see a tree as the wand of the earth for example.

Our hands can also be used to create things, bless things or destroy things. Our hands can be used in prayer or meditation, or in the healing of others. What an amazing wand we have already attached to our bodies!

In this Ace of Wands from the Voyager Tarot we see just that, the hand here has many wands to choose from, and it seems to be pressing a magic button that produces a flash of insight that can illuminate a new truth. This hand has the power to purify, and its power may be revealed when we are ready for a change.

It is true that we must be in the right state before pressing this button, or we may be overwhelmed.

Our center is not typically very wand-shaped, but it is a tool that we need to fortify in order to handle the power of creativity and the spiritual aspects of our lives.

The Source as described by the guidance in the Osho Zen Tarot is the vast reservoir of energy available to us. We hold this energy with in us, and it feeds the various wands and tools we have at our disposal. The source might be the most important tool of all, because if we are not grounded or connected to it our tools may not be of much use.

What are some ways that you are aware of and connect to your source?

An actual paintbrush as a wand – now why didn’t I think of that? In the Tarot of the Divine, the Ace of Wands is represented through the Chinese Folk Tale of the Magic Paintbrush. The owner of this paintbrush, Ma Liang, used its powers to benefit the struggling people around him.

We can paint lots of pictures of beauty that inspire others and I fully endorse that use of this wand, who would want to live in a world without art?

But I also challenge myself to paint pictures through stories that can help others as well, because that can create beauty in the world around us.

What is your magic paintbrush? Instead of a paintbrush you may have a musical instrument as a wand. What an amazing power you must have to inspire and provide joy to others.