Those of you that follow me, I know I’ve been quiet for a long time. We’ve all had a tough time over the past two years as covid, war and murder hornets have taken over our lives. Last year I lost my father to cancer. I was fortunate enough to be there with him in the last month of his life. I feel that the Universe blessed me to give me that gift. But it was a rough year. My own health and work life took a left turn and I entered a pretty dark period. I didn’t feel like writing and doing much of anything.
But I’m back now. I am in a much better, healthier place and I’m ready to start writing again. I’ve started a new blog call The April Fool. It will touch on spirituality, cooking, gardening, traipsing about, playing with animals, talking to plants, kitchen witchery, life as a neurodivergent being, ecospirituality, the Divine Feminine and anything that brings joy and laughter to my heart. It will take a less formal approach than I’ve used here. Please check it out if it looks like your sort of thing.
As we are approaching the end of the year, I thought I’d write down my greatest lesson of 2020 on the path to self-discovery and understanding:
The most important things in life cannot be taught, one must learn these lessons on their own.
Most people seeking the answers to the important things in life will seek out teachers despite this.
Most people will spend a lot of money and time doing this.
Time is required, but not much money is required. The money will be spent anyway.
It’s okay to spend the money. Losing it in this quest is part of the process.
You will absolutely lose your mind several times in the quest.
Losing your mind is part of the process.
When you regain your mind, it will be in a better state than when you lost it.
Each time you go through the process of losing your mind and regaining it, it gets a little better.
When you arrive at your answers, you’ll understand how it was necessary to go through all of the things that were not necessary.
You cannot teach this to anyone, everyone must walk this path alone. No amount of intellectual understanding will prepare one for true, united understanding of the heart, mind and soul.
Laughter is the best way to deal with this knowledge.
I have stated this before here and here, but I think it bears repeating – we need to stop treating the physical world like it’s less important than the spiritual world! These two worlds are connected to each other and are of equal importance. As above, so below; as within, so without; as the Universe, so the Soul. The material world is not something to be use and be discarded. It’s also not a bad thing to have material things and seek comfort. The problem isn’t having them or wanting them, but rather when we get out of balance and start hoarding all of the things!
But the spiritually-inclined often get into the mindset that this physical existence means less than what is spiritually on the other side of this life. I think this is where things get lopsided and twisted for us on both a conscious and unconscious level. If we incarnate here to learn lessons, have experiences, reach gnosis, awaken to our spiritual reality – whatever term you want to use – then this physical world is of extreme importance. If we could do it without incarnating, I think we probably would. Physical incarnation is part of the process. Recognizing this is part of our spiritual growth. We can’t do it without all of the flesh and bones and sinew and gaseous star stuff and leafy greens and bumble bees.
When we devalue the physical world over the spiritual one, it leads to all sorts of abuses. The environment, women, minority groups, how we produce out food, how we treat animals, how we produce and use non-renewable resources – all are treated as commodities for consumption rather than as precious people and resources that help balance our world. Everything on this planet is intrinsically good and part of a great ecosystem worthy of reverence and respect.
Howling at the moon is good for the soul!
While I know most reading this post would agree with this sentiment and are environmentalists themselves, unconsciously we absorb a lot from our language and the dominant cultures and religions in our communities. Countless times (today in fact) I’ve heard the suit of pentacles or disks in the tarot referred to as the lowest level or least important of the suits. Why? Because it’s the suit that correlates to Earth and material things. The Moon, a symbol of women in the West, is still often associated with concealing, misleading, delusion and lunacy, when it just as often is an illuminating force in the darkness, a force of creativity, and where dreams are forged.
How we use and perceive our language and symbols matter. Becoming aware of how we speak and interact with symbols can help us bring our unconscious biases to the light.
I hear he knew a thing or two about how the mind worked.
The Ace of Swords from The Wild Unknown tarot deck by Kim Krans
Every once in a while I come across a tarot deck that demands my attention. The Wild Unknown deck is one of these. I resisted getting it for several years because I didn’t need anymore tarot decks. One only has so much storage in their house for such things, and a new deck means a new pouch for it and maybe even a new sparkly cloth for readings. It’s not just a deck, it’s an excuse to buy all the paraphernalia. Anyway, I finally broke down and bought it in June. I’m now not sure what I did without it, it is like having true second sight! Unlike many other decks which work on alchemical symbolism, archetypes, astrological associations and so on, the Wild Unknown functions for me on pure intuition. Oh, the other things are all there, but I don’t need them. I grok this deck and it seems to grok me right back. When it goes both ways, you know you have a winning tarot deck in your possession. So if you feel the call of one for years, it’s probably time to get it even if you have too many. If you feel the need to cut down and simplify, consider gifting an older deck you don’t use to someone else. It’s always good luck to receive a deck from a friend.
And that’s my tarot deck adoption message for today.
The Ace of Swords, which I pulled right before writing this entry, is telling me I need to meditate tonight to find clarity. Off I go to do that…
One of the great questions of philosophy is, can a miracle truly occur? For some, it depends on how the term is defined. If a miracle is merely an unlikely occurrence, then the answer is easy. Yes. We all witness rare occurrences from time to time. From a sports team coming from far behind to win a championship no one thought them capable of, to accidents where someone narrowly escapes death. We often call these “miracles”, when perhaps they are more closely identified with chance occurrences with low probability.
More often we associate a true miracle when the laws of nature are broken. For instance, Jesus turning water into wine, walking on water, curing the sick, and his own resurrection from the dead. The Buddha was said to have the power of teleportation, the ability to duplicate himself, and manipulate the elements. The Prophet Muhammad was purported to manifest water, heal the sick and also had power over the elements. Today we also hear of modern day miracles which defy nature, such as shrines where people go to be healed or people claiming to see visions of God, saints or other types of entities.
So the question remains, do miracles really exist or are they just human projections on certain events? While we do have many reports of miracles, there are no proofs of miracles occurring to date. I think that’s a powerful statement in itself. There is no proof that has ever been recorded of a real, bonafide miracle.
Many theologians and theist philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, thought miracles didn’t matter. In fact, Kant though that miracles were actually a distraction from having faith. For Kant, miracles were the exception to the rule so it was better to not count on them in your life. Looking to the message of one’s faith was preferable to signs and wonders.
Philosophers such as J. L. Mackie and Michael Martin argue that interference with the natural order from God would prove that God wasn’t perfect. Why would God need to create miracles in the world if everything is going according to plan? Why would God play favorite and help some people and not others? Why would God let some people starve to death or be horribly injured, but save others from that fate through a miracle? Martin also suggests that somethings that appear as miracles to us, may not be God but anomalies that occur in nature that we simply cannot explain yet.
In Hermeticism, when one perfectly aligns themselves (the Below) to the Source Consciousness (the Above), they can achieve the Philosopher’s Stone.
I buy this. I think when we witness synchronicity, this has something to do with consciousness and quantum entanglement. It’s part of the natural order. I do not think a miracle has occurred. In fact, when I think of how magic, astrology and tarot work, I don’t think any of that is miraculous, but more of just how the world operates. I think our individual consciousness is connected to our higher-self or a higher state of consciousness, which may be thought of as our spirit. It’s the entity which keeps sending our soul on mission in the material world. Beyond that, I believe there is a collective consciousness that is societal which we all tap into on a planetary level, and a Source Consciousness which is singular, which all things in the universe share in as well. We share an archetypal bond and this is how things like astrology and tarot work and evolve over time. When we align with our higher-self and Universal Consciousness, we begin to notice synchronicities occurring in our lives. These may appear miraculous, but it’s merely part of the natural order unfolding.
Do miracles occur where the laws of nature are broken? I don’t think so, no. I think when they occur in sacred texts they are meant as metaphors to explain deeper truths. Does the death and resurrection of Jesus mean more if Christ was killed on our behalf as a sacrifice? Or does it mean more that Jesus was the perfect example to show us how to transform ourselves? The Christ story is the path we take to die to our old selves and be reborn as Divine spirits. It’s not about a physical miracle, but rather our spiritual reality if we choose that path.
By Tarotmum13 ~ Just a Tarot-mad mum writing about the things she loves - might be Tarot and Oracle cards, might be my little girl, might be crystals or pendulums, might be my cat!
Awakening the Witch 