Happy Birthday, Sis!

Birthdays are small, annual journeys within our life-journey. Now, as you turn the corner into another year, it is a time for the oracle to examine the past year, the present moment, and the future. Oh boy, another journey calling you forward toward more challenges and conquests.

What is being challenged or conquered? you might ask, and this would be such a larger-than-life question that it can't be ignored. To ask the question brings your life into immediate focus, from unconscious to superconscious awareness of YOU as the heroine of your own life. Each of us quests for the Holy Grail of knowledge of that which is greater than ourselves. Some call it a Higher Power, God, Wisdom, Self-Awareness, Buddhahood, or the Universe.

What we seek is nameless, formless, beyond our small selves. We look to bring wisdom home, into ourselves, our bodies, and our lives so we can be better, live more enlightened lives. We can't stop trauma and tragedy because these are the stuff of life, the trials and challenges that force us out of old ways of thinking and seeing ourselves. Without these challenges we would stay the same(so what's wrong with that, huh?). But life is full of change, and it drags us along with or without our permission. A major challenge is to stay centered amidst the change, to change with the times, and this usually means death to our old selves and outdated habituated styles of living. Each cycle of time—a day, month, year, decade—brings its own trials, death, and rebirth into new form.

Today, we look at the cycle of 1 year. Let's look in the PAST and see what was the major archetype working in your life last year. I draw the card: Rebel. I am surprised.

I don't think of you as a rebel, but the cards don't lie. So there is some major way in which your life changed last year and it involved turning away from your norm or an established convention. Rebel also can mean strong repugnance or unwillingness. We know that last year brought irrevocable changes to your life. On mental, emotional, and spiritual levels, you may have felt a turning away at times, yet on the physical level you put your strengths to work and buckled under the huge challenge of taking care of your son after his catastrophic accident. Such immense change can cause a turning away from God and faith in a benign universe. It can challenge our ability to cope, our usual ways of doing life, forcing us to dig into hidden reserves. And we may fight it on an unconscious, or perhaps if we are willing, on a conscious level. It is only natural to want to resist, to rebel against such major change.

Looking at NOW, we ask the question, Who Are You Now at the beginning of your year-long journey into the 59th year, and I draw the Shapeshifter card.

Shapeshifter is a Native American archetype referring to the shamanic journeying of the medicine man. He travels between the worlds, from the conscious to the subconscious, turns into animal shapes to travel beyond the borders of normal reality, to converse with the spirits. Shapeshifter mediates with the spirits on behalf of the sick, wounded, or dying, bringing back some spirit juju (power) to heal his people. Think of yourself as Shapeshifter and what that might mean to you now. How are you using this energy? Bring it into focus and meditate on the ways in which you are shapeshifting in your life right now. It is obvious to me that who you are has shifted considerably in the last year, that you have become different, altered, and more powerful as a result. Circumstances have coalesced to bring this major archetype into your life. It may go so deep that your old self has died and taken on new form, a new identity. Can you see what that is now?

For the FUTURE, I draw the Teacher card. You are becoming a teacher/mentor in a big way this year. Mentoring means taking someone under your wing and guiding, shaping, giving life lessons to a person who is in a lesser position. You are called on, with this card, to share your life experiences with others so they may benefit. It calls you to come out of the shadows and take your place among the elders who share wisdom with the young. We might naturally think this is referring to our children, those whom we have been teaching and mentoring already. But this may also be asking you to spread your sphere of influence into the community, to take your previous mentoring to a different population. Think about it.

RELATIONSHIPS this year will focus around the Mother archetype. Dang, the Lovers/Union card eludes you this year, at least as a major influence, but that wouldn't preempt a fling now and again, right? I don't think we need to discuss this card. After raising 3 kids, you know all about it. You embody the life-giver energy, source of nurturing and nourishment, fountain of unconditional love, patience, devotion, caring, and unselfish acts. The danger here is being too involved, sacrificing your own needs, allowing the well to dry up.

MONEY & RESOURCES for this year calls into play the Advocate archetype. This card represents the legal system with its lawyers. Real estate transactions are underfoot, which will free up resources that have been tied up for a while. On another level, Advocate may also refer to advocating for your's or another's needs, coming to their defense in money matters. Advocates are "compassion in action."

HEALTH issues draw the Guardian Angel card. There is a guardian angel watching over your health this year. You continue to be blessed with good health, and not only by your own doing. This implies grace and fortune regarding your health. Still, there is a caution here about not collapsing into your good luck. Make sure you take good care of yourself, especially because caretaking can take it out of you.






PERSONA, your ego/personality, the face you present to the world is represented this year by the major archetype of the Vampire. Oh oh. I think this is referring to forming psychic and emotional attachments to others because we want their energy and approval, and fear for our abandonment. Perhaps this is referring to changes in your household. While Nick's accident brought the family together, (and what mother doesn't revel in this dream come true) this can only be a temporary arrangement. As Nick finds a new life, so will your other children, as they must. The need to cling is a natural reaction to the pain of being left behind in an empty nest with caretaking responsibilities. Don't do it all alone. Get help. Be careful to get nourished in other ways so the family is not your only means of support. This archetype is hard to look at. I hate when it comes up. Yet it is essential to review patterns of behavior such as chronic complaining, overdependence, holding onto a relationship either emotionally or psychically long after it has ended, and chronic power struggles.

SHADOW SELF is the hidden, unconscious self, the part we deny. This year, your shadow is the Father archetype. We all strive so hard to be good, look good, act good. What's wrong with that? Nothing, as long as we also acknowledge what is hidden., because what we don't see will come back to bite us. The irony is that it is impossible to acknowledge what we can't see. At first, the shadow can only be seen as a projection onto other people and situations. By paying close attention to the criticisms and praise we give others, we can see the Shadow. Father has a talent for creating or initiating, and overseeing others. Similar to Mother and Mentor, he guides and shields those under his care. But Father can also sacrifice his well-being to his detriment. The Shadow Father, as drawn here, can be dictatorial, controlling, and abuse authority. Not that we had a father like that, no.

GREATEST CHALLENGE this year is Child's Play. With all this mentoring, mothering, fathering, vampiring and such good fun, don't forget to laugh, let your hair down, and get silly. Give yourself plenty of opportunities to be a child, to nurture you sense of wonder and enjoyment, and allow yourself a generous sprinkling of fairy dust. And that might mean having a pitcher of margueritas, starting today! Especially on this special day of days, when we all honor your presence in our lives, the wonderful YOU, and wish you the very best of love, life, health, and every kind of blessing for the year to come. I raise my glass to you, dear Sis, and thank you for being there for me too when I've needed you. You are SO there for us all. Make sure you replenish your own well. Meaning grab that glass girl, and drink up! Another year just bit the dust!

Energy Forecast: Week of January 28

The week of January 28, 2007 offers breakthroughs for some people. Breakthrough, like the volcano image, speaks of erupting through a closed surface, bringing what was underneath to the forefront. Perhaps this might apply to projects that have been stalled now suddenly coming to life with new inspiration, or some goal that has been on the back burner that gets a "green light." Breakthroughs could occur on any level, but this pertains particularly to the physical, material life. Getting things done, moving ahead, feeling the sap rising could apply to career, household matters, creative projects, trips—you name it.

On a mental level, Retreat may be indicated for those who have come to a temporary dead end on ideas or plans. In the creative process, there comes a time when everything that can be done has been done and one must pull back and wait. Retreat is not failure. It implies a period of time to let things percolate, come to new levels. Perhaps support is on its way. The project or plan may need new stimuli to jump-start it to the next level. Waiting is usually uncomfortable to us western folks who just gotta get things done, yesterday! But waiting will bring its own reward to those willing to sit in their juices and stew a bit. Remember, nothing stays the same for long.

On an emotional level, Rescue is on its way! If you're feeling dried up in some part of your life, there is an oasis on the horizon. Perhaps you have been feeling alone in some endeavor; then Rescue might bring assistance in unexpected ways. Who knows, a long-lost friend or ally might appear out of nowhere and bring you the succor you crave. And then there is the possibility that YOU might be called on to do the rescuing. So this week, look out for fair damsels and winsome lads, poor waifs, or orphan projects and ideas that need emotional band-aids and your special brand of coaching.

Finally, there is a spirit of celebration in the air. Perhaps it's time to take a break from the overcast weather and hie-tail it to the nearest watering hole for some good company and lively conversation, or a night of dancing, or a picnic on the beach. At the very least, celebrate all the wonderful things you have accomplished so far in your life. Take stock and reward yourself. You deserve it. The cosmos supports Celebration this week, so make sure you take time out in a special way that celebrates being alive and well on planet earth, this week!

Remember readers, that soulmapping is a way of focusing energy for the coming week. In some small or large way, if you are paying attention, you will notice Breaththrough, Retreat, Rescue, and Celebration tiptoeing or crashing through your life. Your observations are welcome—post a comment. Meantime, be well, fellow travelers.

Soulmapping Awakens!

This is a blind card draw, and an appropriate card to do a test with, as I experiment putting graphics into a do-able blog form. So I'll talk about this card as it relates to the start of soulmapping on this blog.

This card refers to the Law of Karma, of seeing causes and effects through objective self-evaluation. So often we plow through life trying to do our best to get through the day, seldom giving much thought to what we are really about, until some upsetting event forces us to take a deeper look. This card is calling for an awareness of what soulmapping has to offer, and how I, as its creator, can best put it in easily explainable terms to people I don't have the advantage of talking with directly.

The very nature of soulmapping is an opportunity for Awakening. Like a bolt of lightening, awareness can hit us in a flash, even though it may have been percolating under the surface for a long time. The cards have been developing for some time now, and they are about to reincarnate on the internet, which is very exciting. A creative insight from years ago is striking earth, to find its fortune there. Who knows what its fate will be? Only time will tell. But for now, this is its beginning. Through soulmapping, inner vision can be activated so you see causes and effects of thoughts and actions. You can see how the past has created the present, and what the present may create in the future. After all, we are all headed in the direction our feet are pointed. With new vision, you can make better choices, play out a scenario before it happens, and perhaps plant those feet in a different direction.

Awakening offers vision, flash insight, new directions and possibilities. But there is a caution too. The creative juice of lightening must be harnessed for it to do any good. All that electricity, and no lamps to light! For any idea to carry its weight in gold, it must be utilized and nurtured along. Unless it is harnessed into constructive directions, the vision of soulmapping will fail to earth its own genius.

So, soulmapping is in its infancy and may evolve over time. It is an idea, and if it is useful to readers then perhaps it will grow into a maturity that I as its creator cannot quite imagine at this point. Awakening is the beginning of its journey and I invite you all to come along for a ride. Ask questions. Explore what it has to offer. Your comments are welcome. If anyone is reading this blog now, I ask you to look at what Awakening may be telling you. What is Awakening in YOU?

First Request for an Individual Reading

P.W. has asked if I could respond to an individual's question, draw cards in response to the question, and then talk about it on the blog. Yes!

P.W. wonders about two possible courses of action in his life. Would he be happier putting his creative energy toward making graphics and cards for his wife's and his retail shop, or toward pursuing his fine art avocation. Since that is more than one question, I have reworded his quest and will ask each question separately. What is the nature of making graphics and cards for the shop for P's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being?
These cards were drawn: Child's Play, healing, Visionary, and Robot.

The second question is: What is the nature of making fine arts for P's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being? These cards were drawn: Community, Intuition, Sabateur, and Growth. All cards are showing above, but I haven't got the handle yet on getting them in the right order. Learning curve.

Quest 1. On a physical level, you experience freedom and joy expressing yourself. Like a child in a magical world, you give free reign to your ideas, intuition, and impulses and the shop offers a guaranteed place for the fruits of your labors. On a mental level, this kind of acceptance and working closely with a loved one is very healing and nourishing, and offers your mind a daily challenge. Emotionally, your visionary abilities are sharply honed as you plan for the future and imagine what products, "look" and materials to develop. Finally, on the spiritual level, there might be a tendency for you to eventually become bored with mass-producing products once the luster of first insights fades.

Quest 2. On a physical level, fine arts has a wonderful community of artists for support if one needs it. Galleries, classes, the internet all provide places in which to find community, which feeds the soul. On a mental level, your intuition is utilized and sparks your daily enthusiasm to create into form new ideas, develop new skills, challenge your mental skills as a problem solver. But lurking around the corner is the Sabateur, reminding you that putting all your eggs in the fine arts basket can play havoc with self-esteem. It can be emotionally devastating to put your ideas into form and perhaps have expectations dashed. This card only says that there is a caution about your emotional reasons for doing your fine art, to be clear and honest with yourself about what you hope to gain. On a spiritual level, you will experience much growth by working in your fine arts media. Looks to me, P.W., that you have wonderful options that are rewarding all around. Why not do both and double your fulfillment?

The next blog entry will be for the week of Sunday, January 28. Each week I will ask the general question: What is the nature of this coming week? then draw a card for each major level in which we express our being, namely the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. In addition to that, if there are any queries at that time, we can experiment with doing blog readings. Thank you all for your interest so far; it is very encouraging.

What is Soul Mapping?

Soul mapping is a process of getting information and direction that is not readily available to your everyday waking awareness. It uses archetypal images that have been carefully selected to go under the radar of the conscious mind. Talking about issues only goes skin deep, but when you use images, music, and dance, the right-brain opens the door to deeper levels of intuitive knowing. The image cards provide keys to an inner landscape of a situation, person, or line of questioning. By exploring what the image means to you personally, currents, flow of energies, and patterns emerge in response to your question.

I like to use the icon of Psyche and Eros when describing soul mapping. Luther Gerlach's beautiful photographic image tells of a tender love between two archetypal energies. "Psyche" is the Greek word for soul, and "Eros" is the universal symbol for love, desire, longing, and passion. Together, they spell "Soul's Desires." Soul mapping is a way to get down to your soul's desire.

Soul mapping uses a deck of 74 image cards, now organized in a tarot format, since so many people relate to it. It is divided into the Major Arcana of 22 cards symbolizing universal laws and Minor Arcana of Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spirit World suits. Visually they are represented by magenta, red, green, blue, and purple, respectively. Another deck consists of 50 archetypal cards I use in formulating personal information to describe a person's primary energies in categories such as Ego/Personality, Life Values, Self-Expression, Home, Creativity, Occupation, Health, Marriage/Relationships, Resources/Money, Career, Relationship to the World, Children, and Parents. This deck is particularly useful in working with dyad: mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, etc. to foster visual understanding of differences in life views. People are wired differently, and the cards help to "see" those differences in visual terms.

But soul mapping is not Tarot, at least not as it was originally intended and used. It is not divination, fortune telling, or occult. It does not come from the devil. It is purely, simply, a way to get focus unconscious material to get information and direction by accessing what you already know. And it is fun.

Soul mapping was born during a bout with pneumonia three years ago. Bored with bed rest, yet too feverish and weak to do much else, a hair-brained idea sprang up that took me by surprise and kept me in its thrall for the entire two weeks it took to get better. I was driven by a half-baked idea to make cards I could use to intuitively answer questions of the subconscious mind. I riffled through a bazillion magazines, cut out images and pasted them on large index cards. I used the archetypal names from the tarot because they are so universal; but I wanted contemporary images rather than medieval ones. When I was done, I had over 100 cards.

Once recovered, I immediately began experimenting in my creativity classes and therapy groups. At first, I used the cards to develop intuition and insight.We made group creative stories and asked questions such as: "Who am I, right now?" "What do I need?" "What are my challenges?" "What do I desire?" The results were dead-on, and everyone was amazed at how accurately the image cards described their inner landscape. Even now I use them in my personal and professional life and still wonder at the creative process that brought them to life. After much trial and error, some images have been replaced by others, and the decks have been spiffied up and no longer on index cards. Right now the decks feel complete. But who knows, there's always room for improvement.

My daughter, Angelina, has been blogging for quite a while now, totally smitten with the blog bug. She was getting so much satisfaction from her endeavors, I wondered, How can the cards be used in a blog? I wanted to get in on the fun too.

So here goes. I envision using the cards to give weekly direction, much the same as the stars give direction to us earthly folks who have used them for milennia to tell where we wanted to go. The cards can't compete with the stars, but they have their own way of pointing to true North. There is always an answer at the end of every question, so I will ask: What do myself and my future blog readers want to know about the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical energies of the coming week? And I will draw 4 cards for each of these domains of experience and post the cards and talk about what comes to mind about each one. I hope, if anyone is out there, that readers may comment on how the cards detailed their goings-on for the week. It's a way of reaching a larger audience and testing their viability. And perhaps people will be inspired to comment on that. I hope so.

Unlike my daughter's unstinting devotion to journaling, which she has been engaged with for years and years, I will only appear once a week. I think that is adequate for now, subject to change of course. Since all this is very new for me, I only hope that this will publish and be my very first blog entry. I wish you all fortuitous passage on your daily journeys wherever you are bound. It would be my pleasure to be a small part of that journey.