Jillian C. Wilde

Ides of March – ND #96

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Et tu, Brute? – Photo: L. Weikel

Ides of March

We’re starting a new week. I wonder what’s in store for us, collectively, as the week begins with the Ides of March? (Well, technically the Ides are on Tuesday, but close enough.) And then, only three days later, the moon reaches her fullness – bringing who knows what to completion and conclusion? And then, one day after that, the Spring Equinox.

That’s the thing about time – it just keeps on keeping on. Sometimes it feels like it’s whizzing by and other times it feels like we’re in an inescapable slog through quicksand. It’s even deceptive in the sense that it may feel like we’re living in an interminable, static loop and then suddenly, we look around and realize everything has changed.

It feels like the coming week could be one of those. One that feels like nothing is changing and yet when we reach its end, we’ll look back and realize everything has.

A Guide for the Week

Given that this week holds the potential for a lot of upheaval and change, I thought I’d choose a card for us to have as a guide to what’s in store as the week unfolds. No matter what happens, perhaps this card – and its foundation – can help us make sense of the chaos.

The deck I decided to pull from is The Naked Heart Tarot* by Jillian C. Wilde.

Two of Swords – Naked Heart Tarot* – (c) Jillian C. Wilde

Main Card: Two of Swords ~ “Inner Struggle”

“Two swords are tied up with an anchor, suggesting that in order to move forward, you need to make a decision that may be weighing heavily upon you.

The Message:  The Two of Swords represents a time when you are battling with a decision on how to best move forward. You feel so anchored by the weight of a choice or point of view that it slowly pulls you down, and keeps you stuck. You may feel roped to an internal struggle between your head and your heart, not knowing which has your best interest in mind. Your heart may already know what to do, but you are feeling unable to let your guard down and commit without having all the information needed to make a comfortable decision. Sometimes, a choice just needs to be made, and it takes a leap of faith. No matter how hard or painful the choice is, you must make it. Once it is made, you must anchor yourself to the choice. It is the only way to move forward with peace and a new beginning. Ultimately you can make no wrong decision. Under the guidance of the Universe, you will always be nudged back to where you belong.”

Ten of Swords – Naked Heart Tarot* – (c) Jillian C. Wilde

Foundation Card (Underneath): Ten of Swords ~ “Resolve and Release”

“The rat lies on its side as ten swords are driven down from above piercing its spirit, hinting that the end is near.

The Message: The Ten of Swords represents a time of completion when a much-needed ending to a conversation, idea or discussion is necessary. You’ve already been through every detail, argument, theory, and solution there is to offer, and now you are starting to cycle through them again. Rat energy reminds you that it is time to purge old ways and victim mentality, release the clutter and the story attached to the situation, so you can allow room for new beginnings. Going back through it and over it all will not bring you any closer to resolution. It is time to get to the heart of the wound, and cut out the drama, and bring things to completion. Time to release and let it go. Agree to disagree or just bury it in the past, so at this stage, you can more forward. You may feel a sense of resistance or sadness as you go through the process, but it is also an opportunity to reflect upon valuable insights. All is not lost, it is a chance to drop the weight of the mental baggage that has cut so deeply into you, give it to the Universe and let it go. The worst is over.”

My Take

These cards almost certainly have application in one form or another to our own individual lives and circumstances, since we’re each a microcosm of the macrocosm (living out those adages “as above, so below” and “as within so without”). But the broader implication, the prospect of even weightier decisions becoming necessary regarding global circumstances, is obvious.

It seems to me that the longer we postpone making the choices we fear (but which inevitably must be made), the anchor only becomes heavier.

The hope I see in these cards (and there is some) is the prospect for peace in the top card – and the realization that the worst is over in the foundation card. But for the worst to be over, the difficult choice must be made.

Let’s hold in our hearts a vision that the ‘powers that be’ make the highest and best choice for all of us, individually, nationally, and culturally, for humanity, the Earth, and all Her children. We just might be at that place in our evolution.

*affiliate link

(T+96)

Raw Truth – Day 1011

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Four of Swords – The Naked Heart Tarot* by Jillian C. Wilde

Raw Truth

It seems my post from last night struck a chord with many of you. As shocking as the image of that poor rat, impaled by ten swords as it was, the raw truth of its message feels undeniable. After all – it took ten swords to kill that rat, that persistent story, that frame through which we observe and judge ourselves, our family, our country, or maybe even the whole world. The time has come for us to ‘stick a fork’ in old paradigms that no longer work and which, maybe, stopped working a long time ago.

It’s hard to let go of cherished versions of the way things are. In fact, a lot of times we don’t even realize that what we believe or tell ourselves is so, isn’t (and maybe never was).

And we humans can be so amazingly stubborn. It doesn’t matter how many times we may be shown exactly how circumstances or relationships are not as we imagine them to be, we persist in seeing what we want to see rather than what’s actually there (or isn’t). Hence why we need all those swords to finally get the message across.

The Foundation

We’re being asked and, if we don’t comply, forced to reassess some pretty fundamental and core beliefs this year. I’ve been suggesting that this drastic disruption of our foundations is reflected in the planets, specifically how Saturn is squaring Uranus three times throughout 2021. As energies that influence us wax and wane, it’s easy to tell ourselves we’ve done the work being asked of us – only to discover, like the unexpected kick of a mule (not one of my precious donkeys!), that we were only telling ourselves we’d shed those beliefs. Turns out we do still believe the stories we’ve been telling ourselves all this time.

The longer we persist in playing this game with ourselves, the longer we avoid taking our place at the helm of our lives.

All of which brings me back to the card I chose last Saturday (The Hermit) and the card that supported and gave context and foundation to yesterday’s 10 of Swords: the 4 of Swords.

Time and Space

Now more than ever we need to give ourselves space to simply be with our own thoughts and feelings. It seems so simple, doesn’t it? And yet, at least for me, it is one of the hardest things to actually permit myself to experience. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to look at how some of the beliefs I’ve held all my life aren’t true. Or how some of the relationships I thought were rock solid turned out to be ephemeral.

The truth is, we all require a safe place where we can simply be; a place where we can look at what is no longer solid and decide to build new foundations elsewhere.

Don’t forget to give yourselves that safe place as we navigate these turbulent circumstances. Find that place of stillness. Don’t be afraid to look and see what’s really there. Then we won’t be nearly as surprised when (and if) the structures we though were there crumble before our eyes.

*affiliate link

(T-100)

Ten of Swords – Day 1010

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Ten of Swords – The Naked Heart Tarot* by Jillian C. Wilde

Ten of Swords

I get the feeling that we keep thinking we’ve been through the worst of it. Or maybe more accurately, we keep hoping we’ve made it through the worst of it. But by all appearances, that might not be the case. And it’s hard to avoid knowing what’s going on in the world, or avoiding the way it seems to be falling apart at the seams. So when I asked for a bit of additional guidance tor us this week to supplement our visit by the Hermit a few days ago, I chose from The Naked Heart Tarot*. And I chose the 10 of Swords. (Sort of appropriate, given the number of my post!)

I’m wondering if you had the same reaction I did when I first laid eyes on this card. “Whoa!” I said out loud, causing Tigger to lift his sleepy head off his paws and give me a look. I returned his gaze, showed him the card, and said, “Do I really want this to share this message with everybody? It looks like how I feel – and probably captures how many others feel – but yikes. It’s dark.”

It’s true, too. I’m roughly familiar with the ‘traditional’ meanings of most of the cards in the tarot, and the message does seem to be a confirmation of how I feel. But I judged it and found myself wanting something more optimistic.

The problem is, I asked for guidance. It would lack integrity to pick and choose which message to share and which to not.

Ten of Swords

The image is uniquely distressing, I admit. And yet the message – particularly as expressed by the creator of The Naked Heart Tarot* deck, Jillian C. Wilde – does admittedly feel perfect for us to bear in mind over the next few days (or weeks).

The keywords she ascribes are Resolve and Release. Right on so far.

“The rat lies on its side as ten swords are driven down from above piercing its spirit, hinting that the end is near.

The Message. The Ten of Swords represents a time of completion when a much-needed ending to a conversation, idea or discussion is necessary. You’ve already been through every detail, argument, theory, and solution there is to offer, and now you are starting to cycle through them again. Rat energy reminds you that it is time to purge old ways and victim mentality, release the clutter and the story attached to the situation, so you can allow room for new beginnings. Going back through it and over it all will not bring you any closer to resolution. It is time to get to the heart of the wound, and cut out the drama, and bring things to completion. Time to release and let it go. Agree to disagree, or just bury it in the past, so at this stage, you can move forward. You may feel a sense of resistance or sadness as you go through the process, but it is also an opportunity to reflect upon valuable insights. All is not lost, it is a chance to drop the weight of the mental baggage that has cut so deeply into you, give it to the Universe and let it go. The worst is over.

Additional Meaning: Completion, liberation, final discussions, end of arguments, defeat, backstabbed, release.”

Yup. I can definitely see the applicability of this entreaty to release and resolve both on the micro and the macrocosm.

Four of Swords – The Naked Heart Tarot* by Jillian C. Wilde

Four of Swords

Underneath the Ten of Swords was the Four of Swords. While I’m not going to say much about it here, just looking at it I’m confident you can glean how it provides the foundation to the top pick. Underlying our ability to embrace the message of the Ten of Swords is the necessity for us to create a safe space where we can embrace quiet and contemplation. A place where we can be alone with our very own thoughts – free of the yammer, blaming, and arguments being levied all around us.

It’s sort of like the black cat in this card is the Hermit from our pick the other night. Yet again, we’re being urged to create space and be alone with our thoughts. We’re encouraged to allow silence to help us sort out what it is that needs to be released and resolved so a new foundation can be created.

We can do this.

*affiliate link

(T-101)

An Observation – Day 430

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
The Tower – XVI (The Naked Heart Tarot) – Photo: L. Weikel

An Observation

I’m finding myself coming up dry lately. I’m feeling such a tug toward silence and keeping my thoughts to myself, that I’m finding it difficult to speak (or rather, write) about the matters recently taking up residence in and occupying my mind.

We managed to take a walkabout early this evening (the four miler), which nevertheless failed to manifest even one worthy photo-op that might have provided me with fodder for a post.

But we did choose cards again from The Naked Heart Tarot,* the deck I wrote about just the other day. And didn’t The Tower show up for me yet again today?

It was underneath – again – which pretty much leads me to understand that there continues to be major fallout from the “Sudden and Unexpected Shift in Energy” of last week. And that lightning bolt of truth and insight I experienced does indeed sit at the foundation of much of what I’ve been contemplating and experiencing since then.

The primary card I chose was the Mother of Cups.** Interestingly, this card is also known as the ‘Shaman’ of emotional wounds.

“…There may be a strong desire to solidify your emotions, and move on to the next stages.”

Hmm, yes. That’s a definite. Moving on is essential.

And I can’t help but see this in application to our world at large, too. The Tower continues to sit underneath so much of what we’re witnessing in the world at the moment. Let’s hope the ‘Shaman of emotional wounds’ can heal us all.

*affiliate link

** (Note: I would have included a photo of this card, but VZ Wireless is apparently walking the image from my phone to my computer. I’m sure it’ll be delivered to my inbox within the next 12 hours. A little late for inclusion in this post.)

(T-681)

Letting Go – Day 427

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
The Naked Heart Tarot by Jillian C. Wilde – Photo: L. Weikel

Letting Go

Last Monday, Karl and I went on our walkabout (the four miler) and picked cards from a deck I’ve been working with for just over a year: Jillian C. Wilde’s The Naked Heart Tarot*. I love this deck for many reasons, from the imagery to the turns of phrase, perspectives, and interpretations offered by the author.

My intention when shuffling the cards and putting my breath into them was to ask for additional guidance or assistance in fleshing out, if you will, the Medicine Cards I’d chosen on January 1st, which set the tone for my year, which I’ve yet to write about. (I’ll share that within the next few days.)

My pick was pretty intense: Judgment (XX) on top with The Tower (XVI) underneath.

As we walked and I was reading out loud the author’s take on these cards, I felt a prickle of wariness flutter up my spine. There was a clear, interconnected theme to these two cards, that was unmistakable. Yet I didn’t – couldn’t – see where this would play out in my life. Knowing that astrologically, last week, we were approaching the full moon and eclipse in Cancer, with additional rock-the-boat-powerful aspects arriving today (January 12, 2020), I uneasily accepted that the impact of these cards could come from any direction.

The Messages

The top card I chose was Judgment (XX).

Instead of paraphrasing, I’m just going to quote directly from the “LWB” (Little White Book) – meaning the book that accompanies the deck. (In this case, however, it is black and not as little as one might expect). I’ve discovered that authors of card decks usually received insight directly from the card archetypes as they’re creating them. And while a reader’s intuitive interpretation of cards is essential and should always be heeded, it’s often helpful to take into account the deck’s creator’s hits as well.

The Naked Heart Tarot – Photo: L. Weikel

Judgment (XX) – A New Awakening

“The butterfly broadens its wings expanding into a new level of consciousness where it has awakened with eyes wide open. The butterfly flies upwards; one step closer to spiritual attainment, releasing the ghosts of butterfly’s past behind, as it rises to new heights.

The Message: The Judgment card represents forgiveness, letting go of past mistakes, and things that haunt you. Butterfly energy encourages transformation through acknowledgment and transition. It is about having the courage and facing the demons that you bury in the shadows and recesses of your psyche. When you willingly choose to conceal the secrets of your past and shameful moments in your life, it causes metaphorical scar tissue to grown on your soul, making it harder to heal and release old wounds.

This card is asking you to bring forth these ghosts and address them so you can move forward with freedom from the past. Accepting the things you can change and legging go of what you cannot control. Forgiveness is the act of knowing things could not have been any other way.

This card represents significant transformation and rebirth of spirit. When you step outside your past and enter the present with newfound clarity, healed wounds, and a new awareness, the world takes on a new perspective. It is lighter, different, anew.

Additional Meaning: Transformation, release, letting go, rewards for past efforts, clarity, rebirth, resurrection, judgment, forgiveness, new purpose.”

The card underneath, which I interpret as ‘fleshing out’ or adding context to the card on top, was:

The Naked Heart Tarot – Photo: L. Weikel

The Tower (XVI) – Sudden and Unexpected Shift in Energy

“Lightning suddenly strikes the tree, setting it ablaze. It causes burning pieces to fly off, creating a ripple effect setting the surrounding area on fire and then it is washed out by the devastation of a flood. The abundance of fire and water are out of control removing everything from their path creating a clean slate for new beautiful growth.

The Message: The Tower represents a time when all that you know and recognize now becomes unrecognizable. As fast as the lightning strikes the tree, you will be hit with an immediate awakening of truth. You may feel out of your comfort zone and are left with a raw and vulnerable sense of unknowingness. Nothing feels like it makes sense and all may feel lost. Your beliefs may be called into question, as there is a sudden shift in perspective, and energy.

The Tower may be a sign that the Universe is taking action for you towards something you have been unable, or unwilling to see or admit. You may have been hanging on to something for too long, and going against your better judgment or choosing to not see a situation or yourself through the eyes of truth. The upheaval of The Tower will provide you with the necessary growth and expansion you need to move forward aligned with your higher calling. It is an opportunity to release old familiar structures, release and heal wounds, and rebuild a tower of strength within yourself; relying firmly on a new found awareness. It may seem fearful or confusing when you are in the thick of the emotional turmoil. However, as time passes and wounds heal, you will have a better understanding of why things happened. You may even feel grateful that they did.

Additional Meaning: Sudden change, upheaval, shocking truth, breaking apart, emotional outburst, turmoil, destruction, new beliefs, new growth.”

Upshot

In astonishing and truly lightning bolt (Uranian) fashion, I believe this did, indeed, play out in my life over the past few days. To be honest, I’m still reeling. But I’m dedicated to practicing what I preach and thus intend to deeply reflect not only on the events and revelations of the past few days, but also my feelings, my understandings, and ideally, my ability to find forgiveness. It may be an intense week.

*affiliate link

(T-684)