Well Water

This week I'll be using the Vision Quest Tarot, a deck created by Gayle Silvie Winter and Jo Dose (Illustrator); it was published by AGM Müller. I'll also be using Bird Cards, a deck and book set by Jane Toerien (Author) and Joyce van Dobben (Illustrator); it was published by Altamira-Becht. Today's draws are the Big Medicine Wheel (World) and Swallow:

Forward movement is not helpful if what is needed is a change of direction.

― David Fleming

          On this journey, things change, and hopefully our knowledge and perspective keep pace. The World card generally signals a completion of one chapter in our lives and the beginning of another. It also represents a new paradigm - a shift in our way of seeing and understanding things because of what we've experienced. We no longer have to rely on habitual reactions or an old set of patterns. Swallows dart gracefully over fields, meadows and water in search of insects. They originally built their nests in caves, but now build their cup-shaped mud nests almost exclusively on human-made structures. The creators of this deck suggest they symbolize finding your joy, which brings to mind a quote by Richard Wagner: "Joy is not in things; it is in us." Outer lives may change, but we still have an inner well to draw from if we choose to do so.

ETA

From the Jolanda Tarot, the Star:

 

The Star has always represented hope and guidance to me, but in this image I see something else as well.  The night sky reminds me of cycles (especially since we had a full moon last night); there is a rhythm here that can't be rushed.  The bear woman represents the "medicine" of this animal - rest and healing.  As much as I would like to quickly put all the puzzle pieces of my life together, I am beginning to realize there is a pace to life that requires patience.  If I can hang on to hope, the healing and guidance will eventually come.

From the Bird Signs deck comes "Swallow:"

 

“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”  

 ~ Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

The message the creators attribute to this bird is, "Guidance gives you insight and direction in your life."  Nautical men who took long journeys often had a tattoo of a swallow, a symbol of being guided safely home.  I must remember that I too am on a journey, and unlike the airlines, there is no "Estimated Time of Arrival."  My job is not to get to a certain place by a certain time, but to listen and "attend" with intention and patience.