21 April 2011

If What You Seek You Find Not Within...

...you will never find it without.

This statement, among many others, is part of the Wiccan Rede, and it asks me to first find strength within myself, because without it, I won't find it anywhere else.

I have felt off-kilter for some time now - and tonight, for the first time in a long time, I have felt the call of the Universe.

After doing a bit of meditating and centering, I pulled out my Tarot cards...to see what answers awaited me there.  I am seeking strength and the ability to find beauty in all things...and I pulled out The Queen of Cups.  Here's what the (paraphrased) literature says:  the Cups suit is associated with Venus and the receptive aspect of the Divine Feminine.  The Cups offer us the drink of life, love, inspiration, and pleasure.

It might sound pretty vague so far, but wait...

The Queen is the ultimate embodiment of Venus - mistress of life, love, beauty...but she also inspires people to look within to nourish their souls.  Let me just say, I did not read the Queen of Cups bit in my tarot guide until after I typed in the title to tonight's blog post.  Interesting coincidence.

But it gets better...the Queen may also represent a desire to love and nurture others.  There is also a connection to a woman who inspires others to live harmoniously.  This might be pooh-poohed as a "vague branch of fortunetelling" until I think about my aunt's birthday party, which I attended about three hours ago.

My aunt Connie turns 65 today.  She is what modern vernacular would refer to as "special needs".  She grew up labeled "slow".  Her mind stopped developing right around eleven, twelve years old.  She has always been cared for by a member of the family, usually her sisters.  However, with one of them passed on recently, and the other caring for an ailing husband - Aunt Connie was accepted into an assisted living house about three weeks ago.  She has been learning how to shop for herself, prepare meals for others, work at a job, and function somewhat independently in the world.

It seems like this would be a traumatic change for a sixty-five-year-old woman with limited brain capacity.  However, being one of the most buoyant, upbeat, optimistic people I know...she has adjusted so well to her new lifestyle.  She goes to plays, to movies, out to eat with friends - things she is doing for the first time in her life!

My heart nearly burst, watching her tonight at the party celebrating her birth.  She was grinning from ear to ear, so, so happy to be surrounded by friends and family.  It made me wonder When was the last time I smiled like that, being surrounded by my family and friends?  For the first time in a LONG time, I didn't dwell on my own dissatisfactions, complaints, injustices that I "seem" to experience on a daily basis.  I was able to enjoy her enjoying herself.

She's my inspiration.  To live harmoniously - to live positively, happily.  She inspires me to see the beauty and wonder in all things.  Perhaps she is my Queen of Cups.

1 comment:

  1. HD:

    I think Johnny Mercer had it about right with the lyrics to this song:

    Gather 'round me, everybody
    Gather 'round me while I'm preachin'
    Feel a sermon comin' on me
    The topic will be sin and that's what I'm ag'in'
    If you wanna hear my story
    The settle back and just sit tight
    While I start reviewin'
    The attitude of doin' right

    You've got to accentuate the positive
    Eliminate the negative
    And latch on to the affirmative
    Don't mess with Mister In-Between

    You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
    Bring gloom down to the minimum
    Have faith or pandemonium's
    Liable to walk upon the scene

    To illustrate my last remark
    Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
    What did they do just when everything looked so dark?

    (Man, they said "We'd better accentuate the positive")
    ("Eliminate the negative")
    ("And latch on to the affirmative")
    Don't mess with Mister In-Between (No!)
    Don't mess with Mister In-Between

    (Ya got to spread joy up to the maximum)
    (Bring gloom down to the minimum)
    (Have faith or pandemonium's)
    (Liable to walk upon the scene)

    You got to ac (yes, yes) -cent-tchu-ate the positive
    Eliminate (yes, yes) the negative
    And latch (yes, yes) on to the affirmative
    Don't mess with Mister In-Between
    No, don't mess with Mister In-Between

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