Celtic Messages ~ Family Volatility

I did this drawing with the Celtic Messages deck on Sunday – just getting some time to post it today.  I tried three cards this time:

Please click on the above picture to view a larger version.

• Card 34: The Hearth-Fire ~ Family Support, Nourishment: This card refers to relations with the family that nourish the body and soul.  It is about being together with your family, sharing troubles and helping each other.  It is about working towards reconciliations if relations are strained.
• Card 33: The Dagger ~ Defense, Security: This card warns of potential danger from a nearby source – the other cards can help determine the source.  Ensure your actions are open and above reproach, treat others courteously and try to diffuse unpleasant situations before they reach a critical level.
• Card 43: The Horse ~ Nobility, Fidelity: This card urges you to stay faithful to friends, work and ideals.  Don’t be led astray, keep to the path.  Lend your abilities to others if they ask, but don’t let them take advantage of you.

As soon as I studied these cards I knew what they meant!  For the next several weeks there are many little family things happening with our “honorary” family – three birthdays, a housewarming and Thanksgiving.  Two sisters-in-law in the family have a very competitive and volatile relationship with each other – each tries to outdo the other and have more people come to their parties.  The cards are a clear warning not to get sucked into their competition and take sides with either of them – to take the high road and help both of them as much as I can but not to ever take the side of one over the other.

This evening we went to the dinner/ birthday party for the daughter of one of the sisters-in-law.  When the other sister-in-law walked into the house she immediately started handing out invitations to her housewarming coming next week.  This is exactly the type of thing they do to steal each others’ thunder.  The housewarming sister-in-law wanted to talk to me about what I could bring for her party but I diplomatically said I could call her tomorrow to talk to her about it when it wasn’t so noisy.  I had taken care of her children today so didn’t want the other sister-in-law to feel that I did more for one that the other. 

Even with dipolmacy it can sometimes be hard to avoid problems.  After the housewarming sister-in-law and her family had left; the birthday party sister-in-law asked us to come to their house for Thanksgiving – I had to tell her that the housewarming sister-in-law had already asked us to come to their house for Thanksgiving.  It upset her, I could tell.  I’m hoping that the housewarming sister-in-law is going to ask the birthday party sister-in-law and her family for Thanksgiving as well – she had said she was going to have everyone to their new house for Thanksgiving.  To make sure the birthday party sister-in-law feels she is special; I looked up some information on the internet for her as soon as we got home and printed it out and my husband brought it over to their house.

Family dynamics and diplomacy can be very tricky.  The cards are letting me know that for the next few weeks I’m going to have to be especially careful with family matters and try to be a soothing influence at family gatherings.

Celtic Messages ~ Take Care of Yourself

It’s been a while since I’ve found time to work on my blog again. I drew these two cards from the Celtic Messages a couple of days ago:

Please click on the above picture to view a larger version.

• Card 19: The Ford (Crossing Boundaries, Overcoming Obstacles, Reconciling Opposites) This card indicates that you a facing an obstacle but have the ability to overcome it. The only way to do this is to confront it, understand it and work through it. You can’t go around it – it can’t be avoided.
• Card 31: Mistletoe (Fertility, Protection, Healing) This card suggests you pay attention to your health – physical, mental and spiritual. Consider your lifestyle and make the changes necessary to maintain your well-being.

This is really something I needed to hear.  Lately, I’ve not been taking the time to care for myself the way I should.  I got out of the habit of riding my exercise bike when I was so upset about my cats and I never got back to it – I keep meaning to but I never do.  I’ve been eating too much and at the wrong times.

Not just that, I’ve not been taking the time to piddle around with my cards that I used to – that is important for my mental and spiritual well-being.  Seeing what the cards have to say seems to be very “centering” and makes me feel in touch with myself.   I’ve been doing a lot more with and for family and friends – that is important but you can’t forget to take care of yourself either.

So, I need to cross that river in the Ford – just take the plunge and walk across to taking better care of my physical and mental health!  Hopefully, tomorrow – we’ll see because we have to go to another birthday party and dinner.  It always seems so rude to not eat birthday cake.

I saw the new Poll button on the WordPress Editor so I decided to try a poll!

Celtic Messages ~ A Happy Home

Today, I drew two cards from a new deck I received a few days ago – Celtic Messages by Joules Taylor with illustrations by Emma Garner.

Three things drew me towards these cards – first, I like the artistic style of Emma Garner who illustrated this deck.  She also illustrated Tree Magick by Gillian Kemp and several other decks as well.  The second reason I was drawn to this deck is that I read in a review that it contained no negative cards.  Some think that this is something to criticize but at this point in my life, after the sad deaths of my cat and her five kittens, I really wanted a deck that wouldn’t be telling me I would suffer a loss. The third thing that made me want these cards is that they are Celtic related – I’m from a Celtic background (Cornish - 3 of my four grandparents were born in Cornwall and 7 out of 8 of my great-grandparents were born there) and enjoy Celtic things but I’m not a fanatic or a purist or anything like that.

One thing that almost made me NOT get them – they are round – I really don’t like round cards. However, since there were three reasons I wanted them and only one why I didn’t – I got them!  It turns out they aren’t very hard to shuffle even though they are round, the card stock is flexible and the cards are fairly large – 4 inches (10cm) in diameter.

I’ve looked through them several times and today did the first draw. Here are the cards:

Please click on the above picture for a larger view.

• Card 27: Solar Wheel ~ Unity, Harmony, Fulfillment
• Care 22: The Roundhouse ~ Home, Family, Nurture

Each card has a few keywords on the card and then a more in-depth meaning in the book.

The Solar Wheel is one of three cards in the deck that the book says are particularly significant and positive along with The Land and Snake cards.  These cards take precedence over any others.

The Solar Wheel represents the sun as the source of life, light and the cycles of the seasons of the year. It has a profound beneficial effect on any situation.  It unites friends, family, lovers and co-workers and helps you attain your objectives.

The Roundhouse is a card that relates with everything to do with the home – being cozy and comfortable and sharing the togetherness of family life. Part of the meaning says it is a good time to re-establish bonds and set grievances aside.

So, together, the two cards seem to be saying it is going to be a time of renewal and fulfillment in my home. This is really comforting to me. Life with my husband of 30 years hasn’t always been easy or fulfilling – he is very cantankerous. Things have been slowly but surely improving lately and this little reading seems to indicate that things will continue along this line so we can have a sunny life together. I hope so anyway!!  All in all, a very auspicious first reading.

There are 52 cards in the Celtic Messages deck, they are divided into four suits – rather like Tarot. The little book that comes with them is informative – it starts out with some Celtic lore (not sure if it is historically accurate) then after some information about the cards it moves onto many spreads – 10 of them – the largest spread uses 16 cards. The spreads would work really well with Tarot or other Oracle decks as well. After the spreads, there is an in-depth meaning for each card.  The cards and book fit into a nice sturdy square box.

Another nice thing, this is a relatively inexpensive deck – only $11.66 at Amazon with free shipping if you order over $25!