Card of the Day: Nine of Wands

A yellow Balsamic (waning crescent) moon beckons us from the dark cellar of struggle and conflict. It’s not over yet. The steps are high and rough, tangled branches will make for slow going. We’ll need all of our energy to ascend, and even then, we don’t know what awaits us. This moon phase (which we’re currently in), calls us to clear, cleanse and turn inward. After all of the exertion and effort, there’s a pausing, a stillness, a listening.

This time is a great teacher with respect to working with my energy. Here’s what I’m learning: I need to do my morning stretching and liturgy services and tarot pull before I touch any electronic devices. I am fortunate enough that my life doesn’t require me to be on call or available 24 hours a day. Goddess bless those whose lives do require that. If I begin to engage too soon with the world, my mind gets inclined toward scatteredness, distraction and anxiety. I need to recreate my internal structures every morning to be able to meet the day. I could use some more of this in terms of evening rituals and closing the day. It definitely gets kind of scattered. But, I’m trying to be gentle with myself.

I am not watching any news. Some may call it hiding my head in the sand, but I feel extremely aware of what’s happening. I take refuge in reality every day at my altar. I avoid the news in order to maintain my humanity. I see how thin the veil is between “me” and “not-me.” I nearly wished someone dead last night. I don’t want to live like that. And yet my rage and grief at the unfolding of a crime against humanity of such magnitude is enough to take me there—to hatred and dehumanization.

I’ve been drawing the Judgement card a lot lately. It feels like a reminder to stay connected to my integrity and intentions, to have my actions of body, speech and thought be aligned with keeping my heart clear. I’d love to hear how you’ve been working with your energy—what helps, etc. Sending all the love to all of you today.