The Nurture of Nature
Springtime brings us many opportunities to celebrate nature, and nurturance. Earth Day, Beltane (May Day) and Mother’s Day (in the United States) all occur within a few weeks of each other. There’s even an official “World Naked Gardening Day” this week.
It makes sense that, as the Earth awakens, we take time to celebrate the natural world, and the important ways in which the Earth nurtures us.
Mother’s Day is a time when we honor the women who nurture us. For many, Mother’s Day is a difficult holiday. Those who have lost mothers or children, and those who didn’t grow up with a nurturing mother, are often reminded of their loss at this time.
Whether or not we were nurtured as children, and whether or not we have children to nurture, we can connect with the energy of nurturance by connecting with the planet that sustains us.
When we nurture nature in our lives, and allow nature to nurture us, we connect to a powerful energy that can sustain us, heal us, and make us stronger.
This week, plant a garden, or buy a houseplant. Walk barefoot in the dewy grass. Eat a farm-to-table meal. Spend time outdoors, and revel in the nurturance that the Earth provides each one of us.
While we honor our mothers, remember that the Earth is our mother, too.
Finding Nature and Nurture in Tarot
There are many cards in tarot that speak of mothers and children. There are also many cards that speak of nature, and our connection to the natural world. Some of these references are obvious, others are ones you may not have considered.
It’s interesting, too, that some of the cards that reference mothers and children could also reference nature. For example, the first “mother” card we usually think of is the Empress.
Certainly, the Empress references our mothers. The Empress can predict pregnancy, or deliver a message from a mother in spirit. The Empress can also reference the bounty of Earth, fertility of all types, fecundity, and the Earth Mother.
Other cards that can reference mothers are the Queens. Typically, the Queen of Swords is problematic in this context. Traditionally, the Queen of Swords can be a widow, or childless, or bereaved. She can also be a difficult mother, without the ability to give proper nurturance.
Children, of course, can be indicated by Pages and Knights. The Six of Cups can indicate children, or a return to a childhood home. The Ten of Pentacles and the Ten of Cups each reference family relationships.
We find references to the natural world in many tarot cards. Of course, the whole suit of Pentacles in the “Earth” suit. We are often trained to see this suit as predominately being about money, but truly, each of the Pentacles cards can discuss our connection to the Earth,
Both the Seven and Nine of Pentacles specifically reference a garden, for instance.
The Ace of Pentacles can reference the Root Chakra, and our grounding connecting to Earth.
Other cards that can speak of nature include Strength, which is often the card of the animal lover.
In an animal lover’s reading, Pages and Knights can reference their pets, as well as their children.
The Star can invite us to experience the healing power of nature.
The World, of course, can remind us of all the resources that the Earth provides for us, and can deliver to us a message of environmentalism.
The Six of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles can each ask us to look to ways of the past; to adopt simpler and more natural ways of eating, healing, and living more lightly on the planet.
From My Desk to Yours
This week, I participated in the Tarot Blog Hop. Our assignment was to write about the word “may” as it connects to tarot. We had a lot of fun with this one! You can start with my post, and then follow the links to see what the other bloggers had to say.
I also shared a post on my “78 Magickal Tools” blog on PaganSquare, about love tarot readings, and how to make them magickal!
From Around the Web
The Queen’s Sword is a tarot and oracle card review site that can be helpful to anyone who enjoys collecting and reading card decks.
From the Tarot Poetry blog, here is an interesting piece about poetry, tarot and magic.
If you are learning Lenormand, here is a very helpful list of Lenormand keywords from Tarot Taxi.
Song of the Week
From Libana, here is one of my favorite chants “The Earth is our Mother”
Numerology with Zuri
Number Eight
Hello Bright Sparks!
This week it’s all about the money, honey! One of the 8 vibration’s biggest lessons is creating the right relationship with money. Have you been working diligently towards paying down debt, being responsible with your financial planning & investments and working hard towards your goals? Or, have you been over-spending and not saving up for a rainy day? Whatever behaviors you’ve engaged in come to a karmic head under the 8 cycle. It forces you to be honest with how you have been empowering or disempowering yourself to stand on firmer financial ground.
An 8 person has the power to achieve great things in their lives. If their mindset is focused on hard work and abundance like the 8 of Pentacles, they can experience great rewards such as a promotion, raise or public recognition in their careers. Its their drive and tenacity that allows them to live a successful lifestyle and be the leader that inspires others to achieve the best.
However, if they are operating from their shadow side, you may see them sucked into a victim mentality much like the 8 of Swords, where their inaction leads to barely making ends meet due to a poverty mindset. Or, they may become so focused on world domination, that their God becomes money and power. So, an 8 must always remember to balance the spiritual with the material.
Over the course of their journey, the Universe will illuminate the great power that lies within them to manifest big dreams. They can ultimately take a page from the Strength card of the Tarot, which also vibrates to an 8 energy, to remember that strength comes from a balance of power. It’s not manipulation or control that help you get your needs met. It’s tapping into your inner well of strength to use the tools of gentle persuasion and influence to rise above the challenges and adversity standing in your way.
Some questions to ponder when you find the 8 vibration affecting your outer world are: Where do I need a better relationship to money? How can I create more abundance in my thinking and in my actions? Do I need better boundaries? Am I being too controlling or bossy? Or do I need to step up, be more honest and take better control of my life?
This week’s vibrational takeaway in working with the 8 is to explore personal power, what you need to do to create more of it, and how you can empower others to stand in their own manifestation space. Meditate on the Strength card to find the courage to move past your own glass ceiling.
With love & stardust!
xo Zuri
I’m Zuri Eberhart: Tarot reader, numerologist and intuitive healer put on this planet to help fantastic spirits (like you!) learn to trust their intuition, cast light on their possibilities, and move towards their gorgeous goals, fearlessly.
(Oh - and I’m here to make it fun, too. Like, heart-opening, adventure-sparking, I-can-see-clearly-nowww kind of fun.)
Ready to make some magic? I’d love to help you set your mojo on fire! Stop by my digital digs at AskZuri.com.
Three Ways to Feel Nurtured by Nature
If you are not a person who enjoys hiking, camping, gardening or other outdoor activities, or if your schedule doesn’t always allow you to spend your day at the beach, here are three quick ways you can find your grounding and healing connection to nature.
Eat raw foods.
When you make a snack of raw fruits or vegetables, spend a moment thinking about the fact that this food came directly from the Earth. As you eat it, take a moment, not only to taste the food, but to feel its connection to the Earth. As you feel that connection, you will become more grounded, and feel more nurtured.
Meditate with the Root Chakra.
The Root Chakra, located at the base of the spine, is the chakra that connects to Earth. In meditation, send energy from your Root Chakra, down through your legs and feet, and into the Earth. Visualize that energy digging in to the soil like roots. Then, pull energy from the Earth up, from those roots, and in to your body. You will be amazed at how this meditation energizes and grounds you.
Create and perform a tarot spread.
Create and perform a tarot spread that helps you make your connection with Earth. Perhaps the spread could include positions for things like “what grounds me” and “what nurtures me”. As you perform the reading, pay attention to the “Earth” cards that appear, and the cards that make you think of nature.
Image from Gilded Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Your One Card Weekly Reading
Seven of Pentacles
Your one-card reading this week is the Seven of Pentacles. Drawn at random, this card fits perfectly with our theme!
This card has a bit of a bad reputation in some circles. Crowley called this the card of “Failure”. The esoteric title for the Seven of Pentacles is “Lord of Success Unfulfilled”.
Those of us who work with the Waite tradition see something more hopeful in this card. Often, I call this the card of the “tired gardener.”
We may be nurturing an actual garden, or the garden may be a metaphor for something that we need to nurture, like a business, a relationship, or self.
The process of bringing something to fruition is long and tiring. Sometimes it may feel futile.
The Seven of Pentacles reminds us to keep at our task. No matter how bleak things look, if we continue to nurture the garden, it will most certainly bear fruit.
Sometimes the problem with nurturing something (or someone) is that it can take a really long time to see the results of your efforts.
The Seven of Pentacles encourages us to keep working, and keep trying, and promises us that eventually, we will have the harvest we desire.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 15, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread
23388 State Road 54, Lutz, 33549
Join us as I teach my popular free class “The Four Elements and the Major Arcana”. You’ll learn the traditional elemental associations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and see how this aids in your understanding of them.
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or visit the event listing on my webpage.
Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Global Tarot Circle
A Free WebEx Webinar Available Exclusively Online
Join tarot friends around the world for questions and answers about tarot. Share readings, insights and focused conversation with tarot experts, artists, students and beginners.
Log-in information is available on the event listing on my webpage.
Now Open for Registration:
Sunday, June 5, 10:00 - 4:00, Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup Retreat Day at Mitchell's.
October 7, Professional Development Day at TarotCon (Follow the link below).
October 8 & 9, TarotCon (Florida) 2016 in Palm Beach Gardens.
About Christiana
Christiana Gaudet
Origins Spa and Wellness Center
1537 N Dale Mabry Highway #102
Lutz, FL 33548
Private telephone, Skype and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Call 813-948-4488, toll free 866-99TAROT,
or text or call 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
