armadillo

Rebirth – Day 979

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Bat Front Approaching – Photo: L.Weikel

Rebirth

It just so happens my Medicine Card* ‘pick’ for the day today was Bat/Armadillo. Simply stated, Bat is often associated with the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The single key word given for Bat in the book that accompanies the Medicine Cards is ‘rebirth.’ But truth be told, no one ever gets to rebirth without first experiencing ‘death.’ And that’s simply not a truth our culture feels comfortable acknowledging or accepting.

The fact that Bat showed up for me today felt affirming, to be honest. I feel surrounded by messages and signs of impending death or the crumbling of systems, norms, traditions, and foundations at not only personal but also cultural, systemic, and global levels.

Yeah, I’ve written periodically about the ‘theme’ of this year (2021) being tearing down the old structures and foundations in order to usher in radical transformation. Mostly I’ve addressed this in terms of how this is reflected in the stars (technically, the planets). Specifically, I’ve suggested that Saturn ‘squaring’ Uranus three times this year is the ‘tell’ for this cataclysmic shifting taking place on our planet and in our lives.

I’m not saying the movement of these planets and the way they’re aspecting each other is causing this to happen here on Earth. But perhaps the adage ‘as above, so below’ plays a role here.

Patterns, Sequences, and Harmonies

I’m suggesting that the movement of these huge outer planets is reflecting an energetic interaction or pattern that’s playing out on many levels of magnitude, right down to the microscopic, here on Earth. “From the macrocosm to the microcosm,” as they say. My approach to all of this is that the Universe provides us with a vast array of roadmaps and suggested operating procedures to help us navigate through our lives and through the millennia.

So when those who study the movements taking place within our solar system suggest that the underpinnings of many of our institutions and beliefs are going to crumble or be destroyed and replaced with concepts or approaches that feel like radical transformations, like ‘lightning bolts out of the blue,’ we might want to stop for a second. Look around. Pay attention.

What’s happening all around us? Fundamental concepts are being shredded. Institutions we thought inviolable are being violated. And on a personal level, perhaps, beliefs and relationships we thought were true and forever are also struck by lightning and either shattered or energized in a whole new way.

In fact, we might even want to consider whether the ‘foundation’ of pooh-poohing systems of study such as astrology needs to be torn down and replaced with an open-minded willingness to consider there just might be something to these recurring patterns.

Bats, Death, and Rebirth

It’s time to publish this post and I feel like I’m only scratching the surface of my contemplations. Late this afternoon I was reminded that I’d picked Bat today when I saw this huge one looming on the horizon. This Bat brought torrential rains, flooding, and a clearing of the way for something new.

Perspective on the Bat Front – Photo: L.Weikel

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(T-132)

Themes and Messages – Day 504

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
I am loved – Photo: L. Weikel

Themes and Messages

I should’ve started writing this post on themes and messages earlier. It’s getting late and I’ve been a total hog this weekend, indulging in sushi (yes, Karl does know my weakness – witness his Valentine’s Day ‘score’ this year, too) and two – two! – birthday cakes.

Last night I baked myself one of ‘Carol’s chocolate cakes,’ so Karl and I could celebrate all weekend. You know. Be totally decadent and use my birthday to justify the massive stress eating we’ve been engaging in lately. <<Ahem>> As you can see from the photo below, someone very neatly ‘edged’ along the entire width of the cake tonight with her fork. I think it looks decorative.

Carol’s Chocolate Cake – neatly ‘edged’ – Photo: L. Weikel

I couldn’t help it.

But to make matters exponentially worse (not a good word to use, come to think of it) – lo and behold! – my d-i-l Tiffany baked and delivered to me this gorgeous and delectable berry torte with whipped cream and cream cheese icing!

Oh my goodness…take a look at that baby. Tell me you don’t gain five pounds just by looking at it.

All of which is to say that I’m sitting here on the couch in a semi-stupor.

Tiffany’s Berry Birthday Torte – Photo: T.Dollar

Last Year/This Year

There are two sets of pretty interesting themes and messages that I noted last year on my birthday – both of which I want to reflect upon. But if I’m honest, I fear the sugar and fat coursing through my system at this point is not conducive to me writing anything even remotely coherent.

So I will ‘set up’ the stories, if you will, and promise to flesh them out for you in future posts.

Living Breathing Messengers

Both last year and this year, oddly, I was pulled from my slumber by two different types of birds. Last year, a pileated woodpecker literally hammered its way into my dreams until I awakened and saw it clinging to the bark of the maple tree just outside my bedroom window. What a sight that was! They dwarf most of the other birds that hang out around (or swoop through) our yard.

This year it was a completely different bird – but one that seems to have been ‘stalking’ me for a couple weeks now. The fact that I’d noticed this bird had left me a good handful of feathers from all different points along our walks over the past few weeks, flown across my path a number of times, and simply made itself quite obvious, I had to smile as I lay in bed this morning, my consciousness rising up from the depths, when I realized the insistent voice I kept hearing was this very same bird.

Mind you: for weeks, I’ve noticed it and thought solely of the one snippet of knowledge I have about the ‘message’ of this bird. I kept telling myself I needed to look it up, but never seemed to get around to it. I was also dismissing that it was really showing up for me, talking myself out of the mystical sense I was feeling when I kept finding its feathers, and telling myself that these birds have always been in our vicinity (which is true). I used that fact to actively attempt to deny that there was anything ‘special’ about their appearance this year.

Medicine Card Messengers

The other comparison I wanted to make, which if I type fast I may be able to spit out and thus not belabor were my Medicine Card* ‘picks’ on my birthday last year and now this.

I had to look up what I chose on my birthday last year. Luckily I write them down every morning when Karl and I sit, have our coffee, choose our cards for the day.

Last year I chose Dog/Lizard. Dog’s primary message is all about loyalty. Loyalty to ourselves, loyalty to others – and loyalty that’s shown (or not) to us by others.

When I looked that up just moments ago, I had to tip my hat to Spirit. Without question, the lessons I learned about loyalty and how it played out in my life were the biggest, most difficult, challenging, hurtful, and enlightening ones of my entire year. I certainly didn’t see them coming – at least not from the direction they came – and as they unfolded, their very nature was so surreal that the whole situation felt like a very bad dream.

This year’s pick, today’s cards, were Armadillo/Snake.

Given everything that’s going on all around us, from the pandemic to the personal, these cards feel like an amazingly perfect selection as a theme for my personal year. The need to cultivate my skills in setting and defining boundaries – both to give myself space and to protect myself – and shedding a number of things (beliefs, roles, relationships), including perhaps the outer identity I’ve had for some time, in order to reveal a new aspect of myself and my path.

Intriguing.

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(T-607)

Armadillo – Day 479

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Photo: AZcentral.com

Armadillo

Armadillo showed up in my cards today.

While it wasn’t the ‘main’ card for my day, I definitely felt the need to embrace its message.

Sometimes going within and creating a space in which to safely mull over the events of life is crucial to maintaining balance and, ultimately, moving forward. The key word here, I think, is safely.

That’s where the lesson and message of Armadillo can have the most effective impact upon our life. Learning how to create and deploy effective boundaries, which in turn create safety, is essential.

Right now, I’m feeling a powerful urge to withdraw from the world in order to deeply reflect upon a swath of experiences, relationships, and encounters I’ve had in the past several years. And in order to engage in this reflection, I definitely need to feel safe.

What’s That Mean?

“I definitely need to feel safe.” What exactly does that mean? If I had to define it, I guess I would describe it more as a visceral knowing than any kind of intellectual exercise. It’s a state of being that is predicated on knowing that no matter what, you’re loved; that you’re not in danger of being preyed upon.

It’s knowing that you can close your eyes and look within and not feel it necessary to, in actuality, keep one eye open.

I guess it comes down to trust.

Sometimes, when trust has been broken, it takes a while to even have the desire to cultivate a safe space where reflection can take place. It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot of courage. And it can sometimes feel like it would be a lot easier if we could just throw on an invisible coat of armor and just BE the armadillo!

I’m really glad I chose Armadillo to be a foundation of my pick today. It was a timely remainder that, ultimately, I need to take responsibility for creating my safe place for reflection. If I don’t claim it for myself, I’ll never experience it.

(T-632)