Women In-Spirit

       And the journey continues into exploring the tarot through the medium of collage. In this post I will share the Major Arcana cards Hermit IX, Wheel of Fortune X, and Justice XI. A friend and I are creating our way through the tarot artistically and it has been a rich field of discovery. After meditating upon the card I move into finding images that speak to me, I may not understand why they call to be used but I trust the process. Then the creating takes place and finally looking closer to see what has been revealed in the images used. It's always fascinating. I am using The Gilded Tarot as my foundation, my oldest and fondest deck, truth be told.      The Hermit carrying his staff and lantern leads the way. A red bridge extends towards the mountains in the distance and the sunlight illuminates the top of its peak. There are flowers growing on either side of the bridge. A woman sits upon a rock contemplating the path ahead while strangely enough a very large peacock peers o

     I woke this morning to grey skies heavy with rain and a headache between my eyes. So I eased into my day; sipping hot chamomile tea, holding a warmed lavender pillow to my forehead, and going slow. Feeling the headache eventually lifting I decided to sit down and right a blog post on the latest series of collages I've done continuing the deep dive into the Tarot through art that I am exploring with a friend. So, I sat down and composed a blog. Not this one. I hit something wrong and completely erased the first one after two hours of writing! Seriously...really? I always wonder when that happens if it was just an accident or if...meant to be. So let's try again. This time I explored VI, The Lovers, VII, The Chariot, and VIII, Strength. All deal with making choices, with courage and with personal power...movement on different levels. I am using the Gilded Tarot as my guide, my oldest and first deck. So let's dive in.      The Lovers, a passionate couple embrace and are l

Today is the Lion's Gate, a portal, August 8, 2021 the New Moon in Leo which appropriately is a pathway to the Heart. I love synchronicities, those little moments that line up just so, that make you stop, ponder, recognize and smile. A few days ago the Sufi Book of Life, 99 Pathways to the Heart, Practices for the Modern Dervish by Neil Douglas-Klotz called to me to create once again.  Using the book has been part of my on-going spiritual practice since I "found" it back in 2015. Then one day in 2017 inspiration came to me to explore each path through the medium of collage. I wished to delve deeper into each of the pathways and through creativity and art seemed only natural. Gratitude, Giving Back is the 35th pathway. I have shared each of the previous paths here on this blog if you wish to view them in order. It's been six months since I explored a Sufi pathway through art. I have been immersed in starting a business, Flora Sophia, the Wisdom of Flowers, a real heart

     The Major Arcana of the tarot are those cards that represent the major themes in our lives, those threads that seem to weave in and out, those life lessons that seem to repeat themselves until we pay attention and make changes to transform them. They represent the structures we build the foundations of our consciousness upon. There are 22 major arcana cards starting with 0- The Fool, the journey begins and ending with the 21st card- The World, completion.       A friend invited me to explore tarot through the medium of art collage with her. So, we have embarked on this deep dive into the cards together. We each create a collage and share the images and sometimes the meanings with each other. It has proven to be a significant practice, one that has brought a renewed sense of meaning and connectedness to the cards. It's fascinating to see the images take shape, the messages uncovered, the Creative at work. In this post I will share the collages I have created for The Empress, Th

       Is it the vividness of bright green leaves or the blush on trees just before they bud, or perhaps the star bursts of color pushing upwards through the brown left-over detritus of winter that sparks the eye and fills the heart with happiness and yes, even glee after months of monotone landscape? Spring at last, Spring at last! My eyes and heart thirsty for color, for life, for change drink deeply of this richness, drink of it deeply into my Soul, into my Bones, and into my Being. I flit from flower to flower sipping sweet nectar from Daffodils, plunge my nose into Lilacs like a Bee, and hover above the Tulips as a Hummingbird surveying all of her delicious choices.       The Spring landscape, a smorgasbord laid abundantly before us, beckons us to delight in the beauty of change, of new possibilities, of a newness of form. Rise up out of your winter den and cast off your layers, shed your old skin, stretch your limbs, rub the sleepy seeds from your eyes and plant them all in the f

       A dear friend recently asked if I would be open to exploring the tarot through the medium of collage and of course I said Yes! Art, and collage in particular, invites a conversation, one that speaks to us through symbolism and archetypal voices.  The process and expression ultimately leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves. Our unconscious is given voice, our soul speaks to us, and if we are willing and open we can reach a new understanding through the message being offered. Carl Jung had this to say about symbols;      “Because there are innumerable things beyond the range of human understanding, we constantly use symbolic terms to represent concepts that we cannot define or fully comprehend. This is one reason why all religions employ symbolic language or images. But this conscious use of symbols is only one aspect of a psychological fact of great importance: Man also produces symbols unconsciously and spontaneously, in the form of dreams.” From Man & His Symbols.  

      In a childhood photograph my Mother walks on a beach with her arms full of wind-dried sea grasses. With her gentle smile and her tousled blond curls peeking out from the hood of her coat, she exudes an aura of relaxed vitality. My brother and I, bundled in coats and hats, cheeks rosy pink from the wind, lead the way that day upon that wide, empty beach. I can still hear the seagulls screaming above the thundering surf of the Atlantic, feel the sharp wind slap, taste the salt on my lips. My pockets were assuredly filled with treasures; seashells, pebbles and bits of driftwood all polished smooth by the sea. And I remember how the ocean made me feel wide inside, open and wild, free and alive but also inextricably connected.        Mother loved to tell us stories of her childhood especially her early years growing up on the ocean; of being a mariner scout or when she and Grandpa were rescued by the Coast Guard one fateful fishing trip. She would look out to sea with a wistful look i

       At this writing we are just in the 'dark of the moon' phase before Thursday's New Moon. The night sky is dark as there is no solar reflection off the face of the moon. Within three days a new crescent sliver will appear. Psychically this is a time ripe for inner retrospect, for deep listening. I usually find that I am tired mentally and physically and am instinctively introspective by this phase each month. Considering that we are also in a mercury retrograde I am especially so. It's time to honor and make space for extra rest, for journaling, and for spending time reviewing the past month. Somewhere under this veil of darkness there is something that unsettles me, something I need to hold and release. Holding on to it weakens me, so now is the time to circle round that wound casting it into the light of healing and forgiveness.       This particular pathway The Forgiveness of Light, #34,   falls then at precisely the right time. Some years back I was inspired to

     Considering the current upheaval on so many levels of our society this is an aptly themed discussion on having “Flexible Strength" which couldn't be more timely in my estimation.      Some years back now I was inspired to explore each of the 99 Pathways in the “Sufi Book of Life”, a book written by Neil Douglas-Klotz, through art and the medium of collage. I had been using the book as part of my daily spiritual practice and thought that exploring it through the expression of art would bring me a deeper experience and understanding. And it has! With this post I have now completed my 33rd pathway, I am one third of the way through. The synchronistic manner in which each creative process enfolds, sometimes over the course of days or even weeks; of images that make themselves seen, of how the collage 'becomes' in its own time, never fails to amaze me. It can't be rushed. And the creating of the collage is both separate yet connected with the writing of this blog,