Make Hay

From the Prairie Tarot, the Ace of Wands; from the Medicine Cards, Salmon:

When the sun shineth, make hay.

~John Heywood

Cock-a-doodle-doo! Wake up and get moving! The Ace of Wands is a sign that we've been inspired to create or motivated to act. But if we wait too long, our enthusiasm will begin to dissipate, and we'll start to second guess ourselves. If we're not sure how to begin, Salmon tells us to follow our inner nudges, just as it follows its way back to the waters of its birth. Start swimming and follow that inner knowing. 

Calmness and Clarity

From the Herbcrafter's Tarot, Temperance (Camellia); from the Green Wheel Oracle, Salmon:

Calmness is the cradle of power. —Josiah Gilbert Holland

Temperance advises us that mindfulness leads to clarity and the ability to discern appropriate action. Camellias are known for their lovely ornamental blooms in the fall, but Camellia sinensis is known as the ‘tea plant.’  It is the most common plant in the world to be used to make tea (green and black), usually from young leaves. Making and sipping tea gives us a chance to slow down and widen our tunnel vision. Salmon invites us to return to the internal source of an issue. As Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche suggests, " If an emotion or a disturbing state of mind is too painful to look at directly, seek the underlying condition that holds it in place. You may be surprised at what you discover."

Empowerment not Capitulation

From the Prairie Tarot, the Hierophant; from the Medicine Cards, the Salmon:

Rather than a priest doling out penances for sins and a set of beliefs for salvation, Ator uses a Native healer. These healers used traditional methods for balancing the mind, body and spirit of their people. George Amiotte is an example of a modern day healer who specializes in helping veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder. There seems a great divide between the minister's solution of submission and the empowerment offered by the healer. Salmon represents wisdom and inner knowing. It suggests we see the opportunity in all situations, understanding that wisdom is earned in both enjoyable and difficult experiences. This wisdom is gentle, kind and seeks the good of all - there is no advantage to be gained over another. It takes courage to seek that inner counsel rather rely on another.

The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now. 

– Henri Nouwen

The Stories We Tell

From the Herbcrafter's Tarot, the Healer of Air (King of Swords); from the Green Wheel Oracle, Salmon:

We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take from us or spare us. ~Marcel Proust

          The phrases for these two cards sync up nicely today: "What is remembered lives" (rosemary) and "Return to the source" (salmon). Stories are the building blocks of human relationships, whether cultural, familial, or between friends. With our stories we can create or destroy, encourage or humiliate. The stories we retell can keep beliefs alive or can change our view so that we see from new perspectives. Yet the salmon suggests that wisdom isn't simply an intellectual pursuit; it must be embodied. We must make the journey physically (through action) in order to know if the stories we've been told are more than fairy tales. And then we'll have our own stories to pass on.

Strength Askew

From the RochesTarot, Strength; from the Animal Shaman Vision Cards, the Salmon:

          Something seems off-kilter in this Strength card. I get the feeling that the man is trying to suppress his feminine side. Is he afraid to appear gentle, tender and nurturing in front of his colleagues? Perhaps he's in a profession that looks down on such traits, believing it makes him appear too soft and passive. Particularly among religion and politics, I've to noticed a swing back to gender-specific roles lately, as if a person should only act one way if you're male or female. But while someone might have certain physical characteristics on the outside, all of us have feminine and masculine traits on the inside. I don't think it's healthy to try and repress those traits simply to impress someone or fit in with a group. Could a person be happy and content with such an arrangement? I think he'd have more luck trying to get that cat to jump through the ring of fire.
          Typically, most salmon are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce. The term "salmon" comes from the Latin salmo, which in turn may have originated from salire, meaning "to leap." It is descriptive of the driving instincts of mature salmon to return to their spawning ground. Celtic mythology and poetry identifies the salmon as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. This card implies that acting from both our masculine or feminine sides is natural. And the Celtic element reminds me of the ancient Greek maxim to "Know thyself." Being true to oneself can be freeing:

I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness. ~ Walt Whitman

Yet in dealing with others, kindness and respect will always have an important place:

 No man is free who cannot command himself. ~ Pythagoras

Fail Better

From the Prairie Tarot, the King of Coins; from the Medicine Cards, "Salmon:"

          Now this is quite a pairing: the hands-on King of Coins with the wise and tenacious salmon. I can imagine this man traveling west, expecting to find land to cultivate. Instead he discovers dry, arid soil that isn't very hospitable for growing crops. Does he try anyway, beating himself over the head with that mallet when he fails then fails again? I don't think he gives up, but he is wise enough to know his agricultural plan will not bear fruit. I'm guessing he began prospecting for gold and found success through this new endeavor.
          In a commencement speech at Naropa University (where her granddaughter was graduating), Pema Chodron said:
There is a lot of emphasis on succeeding. And whether we buy the hype or not, we all want to succeed, especially if you consider success as “it works out the way I want it to.” You know it feels good in the gut and in the heart because it worked out. So failing, by that definition, is that it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to. And failing is what we don’t usually get a lot of preparation for... not just going down the tubes with it but actually taking responsibility for what is happening to you and having some tools about how to work with painful feelings, raw feelings. So fail, fail again, fail better. It’s how to get good at holding the rawness of vulnerability in your heart. 

Look Up (Avoid Navel Gazing)

From the Wild Unknown Tarot, the Five of Pentacles; from the Pictish Oracle, the "Salmon:"

 Hold your face up to the light,even though for the moment you do not see. ~ Bill Wilson

We all know what it looks like on the outside when our physical or financial health is ailing; Krans illustrates what our spirit looks like on the inside when we go through these things. Maybe at first we believe things will improve. But as the days go by with no change, our worries increase and our spirit begins to droop like this rose. Just as the stem has lost its thorns, our feisty nature disappears. We give in to despair and begin to give up.
The Salmon in Celtic lore is a symbol of wisdom, yet its life cycle also represents tenacity. Its wisdom would tell the rose to look up from its self-centered hole of pity and ask for help. Hold its head up to the light and dig its roots down into the earth until it arrives. Persevere because change is coming. It might not come in the guise expected, but it will come - it is the natural cycle of things.  

Setting Posts

From the Prairie Tarot, the Four of Wands:

 In 1867 Lucien B. Smith received a patent for inventing barbed wire, the first type of wire fence to successfully restrain cattle. Cheaper and easier to erect, these fences made animal husbandry affordable and practical on a large scale. The Four of Wands is generally a celebratory card indicating the successful creation of a stable foundation. From this sound beginning, more growth and expansion can come. The four posts - red, yellow, green and blue - suggest that passion, intellect, resources and emotional balance will be required to firmly set my posts. The fence itself implies a need for boundaries, though not to keep everyone and everything out (the hawk and deer could easily cross it), but to remind me to be discerning about with whom I share my projects and goals.

The draw from the Medicine Cards this morning produced "Salmon:"

Salmon are typically born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean then return to fresh water to reproduce. Studies have shown that olfactory memory enables them to return to the exact spot of their birth to spawn. In their book the authors write, "Coming full circle, Salmon medicine people finish what they begin, bringing life's events and cycles to closure." So adding to the "just do it" slogan of the Wands suit above, this fish would add "and finish it too."

Navigating Currents

From the Prairie Tarot, the Chariot:

Early rail lines were made of wood; horses could pull the carts much easier on rail than over road.  By the 1830's, steam-powered locomotives became common.  Ator seems to have combined both of these inventions in the Chariot card.  The rails in this card remind me that no matter what my goal or challenge, it is likely someone has already blazed a trail.  I may have to do things differently than they did (horse power vs. steam power), but I can rely and seek support from those who've struggled and succeeded.

From the Medicine Cards today comes "Salmon:"

The salmon returns to the place it was born in order to spawn, navigating currents and predators to get there.  Its message is one of determination and courage - persist until the goal is reached.  The journey to the place of its native waters encourage me to look to my ancestry for information as well.  This card reminded me of one of my German relatives who discovered when he arrived in America that he only had enough money for his wife and children to travel inland.  He saw them off on the train, then proceeded to walk the 300 miles until he reached them.