Boots and Bats

This week I'll be using the Prairie Tarot, a deck created and self-published by Robin Ator. Today's draw is the Three of Wands:

In the middle of a building project, a cowboy pauses to look over the progress made so far. I like to do this when I'm doing yard work or halfway through a creative endeavor. Seeing the changes made or the work accomplished makes me feel good about my effort. Of course a problem can arise if I get so much enjoyment from resting on my laurels that I forget that the job isn't completed. I can imagine the crow in the card wondering if the man is real or some type of strange scarecrow. Time to get those boots moving buddy.

The oracle I'll be using is the Medicine Cards, a deck and book set published by St. Martins. Its creators are Jamie Sams and David Carson, and the illustrations are done by Angela Werneke. This morning's card is "Bat:"

Because of its habit of sleeping in caves and other hidden away places during the day, Bat has become associated with the ritual death and rebirth ceremony of healers. One ritual described in the book explained how the healer-to-be was sent out to dig his own grave. He would spend the night alone there with the opening covered by a blanket. Here in the earth the initiate had to confront his own fears. Bat implies that such a symbolic death and rebirth is needed in my life; old patterns are no longer useful for the growth ahead and must be discarded.