I'm going to be away the next few days but I will be back for Serenity Sunday. I wish all of you a very Happy and safe New Year and Bright Blessings!

Let It Snow.....

We got to see some snow after all! The kids were thrilled and very cold when they came back in.

The porch...

The garden and my red car in the background...

and "Sweetie's" son Zack's car.

Tarot Tuesday

There are many books out there on tarot...many, many...but one of the "must have's that I always suggest to people just starting out is "Tarot for Yourself  a Workbook for Personal Transformation" by Mary K. Greer.  In this book, she discusses how to discover the number for a year and how it corresponds to a specific Major Arcana card. It's quite simple...just take the year, 2010, and  add up all of the digits...2+0+1+0= 3...So the new year will be a 3 year. The number three card in the Major Arcana is The Empress.

3

Social expansion, creative successes

This is a social, happy year and it generally tends to exude bright and cheerful vibrations. This is a year to check up on old friends and broaden social circles to include some new ones. Romance and love affairs may bloom. Life to its fullest now ( but don't get too carried away, you might have to pay the consequences later on.)  The mantle of responsibility will seem to have lifted a bit. 


Many things will be happening at the same time but so don't get too many irons in the fire. Take some time to enjoy what life has to offer but keep healthy goals in mind. A 3 year is a good time to expand personal creative talents, especially those related to the arts and verbal skills. Recognition in this regard is likely this year.

Tarot Layout For The New Year

1.) Influence(s) passing away with the year.

2.) Accomplishment(s) of the past year to reflect on.

3.) Goal(s) for the coming year.

4.) Obstacle(s) you may encounter in the coming year.

5.) Energies that will help you in the coming year.

6.) What is the over-all theme of the coming year?

*(s) ~in case you wish to draw a clarifying card to further understand the card drawn.*

Friendship

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote:

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.




Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.


He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses much more;
He who loses faith, loses all.

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.


Friends, you and me.......You brought another friend....
and we started our group....our circle of friends.....
and like a circle.....there is no beginning or end......
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.


Today is a gift




It's National friendship week.

Serenity Sunday

First of all, I'd like to say that I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with all their family and friends...I hope all your travels were safe and most of all, I hope you all enjoyed the glorious feasting. Secondly, I'd like to send Mrs. B a deep and heartfelt get well wish as well as thank her for her terrific help with figuring out how to reclaim all my lost blog buttons (and on a neat little scrolling thingy to boot!) Thank you Mrs. B, get well soon!

It's strange to realize that in just five more days it will be a brand new year but time marches on and it seems to march faster the more "new years" under my belt. For many, this will be a week of thinking of the things we want to accomplish the coming year...getting in shape...stop smoking...go green...get a better job...eat healthier. What are some things you resolve to accomplish this next year?

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) Good friends

3.) Holiday pictures

4.) My jasmine is blooming again...squee!

5.) Homemade fudge

6.) Piles of shredded wrapping paper

7.) Twinkling lights and shiny tinsel

8.) Happy memories

9.)  Longer days

10.) "National Friend Week" is this week!

Look...Mercury In Retrograde...Whaddaya Mean Mars Too?!

~Mercury-December 26, 2009 -January 15, 2010

~Mars- December 20, 2009 - March 10, 2010 

Today marks the beginning of Mercury Retrograde and will be with us until January 15th. The word retrograde simply means “moving backward” or “retreating.” In its astronomical language, a planet is said to be retrograde when, from the viewpoint of Earth... it stops and then moves backward in its orbit. The effect has been likened to driving down the road watching a moving car beside you....if it slows down or your car speeds up, the other car appears to be moving backward.

 A change in speed has nothing to do with a planet going retrograde. The illusion of backward motion occurs because the angle of a planet’s orbit relative to Earth’s orbit changes at certain points in their respective cycles. Three or four times a year,(four this year) for a period of 20 to 28 days each time, Mercury exhibits this effect.

Mercury in retrograde periods are said to be fraught with misunderstandings, confusion, and indecision. Delays in communication (for example, a misdirected package or a failure to return a call) are common, as are distractions and a frequent need to rework or redo things you create. Mercury retrograde is also blamed for malfunctions of every kind—cars breaking down, computers crashing, and answering machines going kaput for no apparent reason and with greater frequency than usual. Oh boy... As if I were not challenged enough already?!

Mars goes retrograde about every two years and two months, on average, making it a fairly rare event and the least frequent of all the planets. During this time, our approach to conflict, hostility, anger, assertiveness and taking action often requires rethinking, regrouping and reevaluating.

 You may be required to draw on your strengths to assert yourself in some area where you've been reserved, cautious or inexperienced. The weakest links in your life may break apart or need to be repaired. You might need to find new ways to become empowered.

So, what is Mars energy? A big part of Mars' energy is about anger and aggression. Under Mars retrograde, we may be confronted by issues involving these emotions, either within ourselves or through others. During the retrograde phase, we may be unusually sensitive to disagreement, conflict and power dynamics in the world around us. We might encounter a need to examine how we deal with aggression, and then integrate the powerful forces of human nature into our lives in some new way.


Wow, looks like it's going to be a bumpy ride folks...buckle up!

Holiday Wishes

Child Holiday Poem


My mom is cooking holiday treats;
My dad is spending money;
They think they've hidden all the gifts;
It's really pretty funny.


Now Mom and Dad are whispering;
They imagine I don't hear.
I'm really all excited;
It's a happy time of year.


I've made my holiday gift list;
Whatever I get, I'll be glad
To be a part of my family,
And the best holiday I've had!


By Joanna Fuchs

The Star And The Emperor's Shadow

Once upon a time, in a land very far from here, there lived the Star.The Star radiated with her own inner beauty and had the gifts of pleasure in nature, reasoned intuition and of shining hope. Those who experienced difficulties or were depressed or unwell traveled from far and wide to ask the Star for healing. There was something about her twinkling light that drew them out of themselves and up into a higher plane, because as we all know, with our eyes heavenward, we no longer feel the distress of earthly woes.

One day, while filling her shiny silver pitcher with water at the tranquil pond of hope, a small band of the Emperor's Knights happened to come upon her while riding their horses back from battle and were struck by her ethereal and somewhat other-worldly presence. All the harshness and density of their everyday lives seemed to slip away and they began to feel uplifted and blessed to be in her company. One Knight, so taken by her radiance, dismounted his big black horse and approached the Star.

"What are you doing maiden?" he asked and the Star answered simply with the beautiful clear voice of a soprano "I am filling my pitcher from which I renew joy and hope to my garden." The Knight's grief and despair that had overwhelmed him from the many battles he seen, instantly vanished and a sense of hope, enlightenment and great happiness filled him. He became filled with purpose and that knew he must tell the Emperor of the inspiration and enlightenment that he had found when hearing the maiden speak.

Now the Emperor who was short and pudgy, hard and aggressive and prone to sudden fits of irrational rage, had become very disenchanted with life after claiming the throne from his controlling and very rigid father (who recently had met with a sudden and untimely end during a jousting exhibition in which he arrogantly bragged of his military prowess.) The Emperor had long ago given up his sense of wonder and adventure and had become entrenched in stubbornness and took great pleasure in choosing domination over  balanced authority when dealing with his subjects.

When hearing his Knight's tale, a plan began to take shape in the shadow recesses of the Emperor's brain and he went to bed that night plotting of just how he might possibly squelch these silly, nonsensical, fluffy bunny qualities that his Knight had claimed that the Star possessed. After all, he couldn't let this maiden influence his subjects in such a manor, giving them hope and confidence in themselves, challenging his heavy handed control. "There must be a way to stop it...but how?" he grumbled.

(part two next Thursday)

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."-Albert Einstein

"What Is...?" Wednesday

...A few of the more unusual techniques of divination

Ailuromancy- (from Greek ailouros), also known as felidomancy....the art of divination using cats' movements or jumps to predict future events, especially the weather.

Since ancient times the mysterious cat has been associated with witches, the occult and many superstitions, so it is not surprising that diviners used them to search for clues to the future. One of the oldest and most common method of ailuromancy uses the behavior of a cat to predict the weather. If it turns its tail to the fire, it foretells a change of weather, particularly rain or hard frost. If the cat lies curled up with its forehead touching the ground, it means that stormy weather is in its way.

Aleuromancy- a divination method that was popular with the ancient Greeks. Sentences were composed that were written on very small pieces of paper and rolled up into balls of flour. The balls were then mixed up nine times and given to those seeking information on their future. This form of divination was presided over by Apollo.

Moleosophy- Like palmistry, tarot and numerology, Moleosophy or the study of moles is also a branch of astrology – a form of divination by studying the moles or the birthmarks on your body. Moleosophy or the study of moles on the body was developed dates back during the civilization of the ancient Greeks.

Gyromancy- a form of divination performed by going round in circles.The circumference of the circle is marked by letters. The message was gained from the words formed by the inquirer when they stumbled on the letters when going round the circle.







"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." -Marie Curie

Tarot Tuesday

The Ace of Cups

Keywords for the Ace of Cups can include: faithfulness, fertility, joy, love.  The commencement of creative or artistic projects.  All the positive powers of the unconscious mind. In timing, the Ace of Cups indicate summer and aces symbolize beginnings.

In this card we can see an open hand as if offering up a gift and the cloud lets us know that it's a divine gift.. the white dove shows us that the gift is pure. The pond indicates the unconscious mind and the five waterfalls reflect the five senses. The lilies are our inner emotions that are developing with the assistance of the water around them.


When the Ace of Cups turns up in readings, it inspires us with confidence and happiness. If it appears in a daily draw situation, it can indicate the start of a loving relationship of either the romantic or friendship type, it can represent the beginning of a project in which a great deal of loving energy is involved or sometimes it can reveal the beginning of a new life.


In a tarot reading where the Ace of Cups is reversed... it indicates that the emotions have been damaged, that the heart is blocked and that the individual in question may have difficulties connecting to other people. In other words, what might be called "A broken heart." In this case the Ace speaks to us of opening our heart and allow the divine healing energy to fill us up again.











The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about. — Wayne Dyer

Button, Button....

It seems that I've lost all the buttons for my button exchange partners...after spending a great deal of my morning trying to get them back, I'm pretty sure all my marbles have fled as well. I think I may have take a wrong turn at the scrolling widget  HTML code intersection and ended up in nothing but empty space lane. If anyone can assist me in this scrolling blog button exchange widget debacle...please feel free to snicker, cackle or roll on the floor laughing... and then take pity and email me. Blessed Yule!

A Blessed Yule To All...

The Yule Faeries - A Winter Solstice Story
(author unknown)


A group of little Faeries huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree. They were safe and snug in their tiny underground cave lined with dandelion fluff, bird feathers, and dried moss.
Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. "He looked so old and tired as

he walked off through the forest. What is wrong with him?  The great oak said he's dying" answered Daffodil. "Dying? Oh, what will we do now?" Little Meadow Grass started to cry "If the sun King dies, our
little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again.Everything will be winter for ever!" Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As
they huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.
"Open up, Faeries," called out a loud voice. "Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat.
"We are too sad to celebrate," Daffodil said wiping her eyes, "the Sun King  is dying, haven't you heard?"
"He is dead you silly Faeries." Brown Knobby's round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "now hurry, or we'll be late for the celebration!"
"How can you be happy and laughing?!" Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. "If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!"

"Silly little child-Faeries." Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don't you want to know what it is?"
The Faeries looked at him in surprise. "Secret?" they all said. "What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome. We've never been to a Solstice celebration before."
"Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. "Hurry, Hurry, don't be slow! To the sacred oak grove through the snow!"


He danced out of the door and disappeared.
"What did that gnome mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down.
"I don't know, but the Lady lives in the sacred grove." Meadow Grass pulled on her hat.

"Perhaps if we go to see the Goddess, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about".
The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the sacred oak grove. The forest  was dark with only the light of the Moon  shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the snow because they  were very, very small. As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox.
"Where are you going, Faeries?" the fox asked.
"To the sacred grove," they answered, they were cold and shivering.
"Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly."
The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark.

"Listen!" Lilac said as they neared the grove of sacred trees. "Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones."
The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the stone altar in the center of the grove,
then knelt down.
"Look!" said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. "There is the Maiden and the Mother and the OLD  Wise One, And many other Little People."
"They are all smiling and happy," said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures.
"All the animals are here too," whispered Dandelion. "why are they all looking at the Mother?"
The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands. She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held.
"A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new little Baby! Look how he glows!"
"He is the newborn Sun King," said the Maiden smiling.
"But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this little baby be the Sun King?"

"That is the secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for
all creatures, not just the Sun King."
" You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother.
" Yes Little Ones," answered the Old Wise One. "There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice."
The Faeries laughed because they were so happy.
"I think the little Sun King should have gifts," said Rose. "I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer."
"And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind," exclaimed Dandelion.

"When he is older and stronger, " said the Mother, "then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time. Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest."
The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King.


Bright Blessings!