Looking For Sparkles After Rain

Every first Monday of the month, my friend Andrea Hiltbrunner throws a Blog Challenge where bloggers around the world will blog about a given topic and then link the blogposts together into one big themed blog party.  This month's topic is on Sparkle.  To be honest, I very nearly gave it a miss because it did not sound like a topic that had anything I could write about from the perspective of one on a spiritual path. And I had dedicated my blog Sun Goddess Tarot to my spiritual path.

This weekend, I was proven wrong, and it was perfectly timed as if the Universe just knew.  So this is my contribution to Andrea's Blog Challenge.  You can read Andrea's blog here :  http://www.dreamheart-smartart.ch/2014/04/07/blogchallenge-sparkle/#permalink

GoingThrough A Major Spiritual Shift

In the last few years, when I had come out of the closet as a certified professional Tarot reader, Numerologist and Astrologer, I had made large strides with my spiritual path as I honed these skills and gained more experience.    However in the recent months, when I discovered the gift of mediumship and particularly in the last few weeks, when I learnt to tune into the energies of others, my spiritual path had moved at the speed of Usain Bolt and I could even see sparks flying at the heels of my soul.

In the past, I worked on my clients' issues by understanding their Numerological and Astrological influences then casting a Tarot spread to obtain advice from the cards to deal with these challenges.  Today, I could add a new dimension to these readings.  Before the appointed time I was supposed to meet my clients, I now would do my meditation and visualization work to tune into their energies to understand their issues better.   The Tarot readings were still necessary because they became an affirmation of what I saw through my visualization work prior, and they were a physical source of comfort to my clients.

I felt good that I could help my clients better.  However, I realized that while there were sparks at the heels of my soul, my body was still stranded way back at the starting line, trying it's best to catch up with the "Usain Bolt" of my soul.  As an Empath, I took on the energies of many people around me and involuntarily my mind saw visions of issues that mere strangers were going through.  My body was exhausted and my mind was always distracted.  I often felt the sadness, pain and anguish of others.  I could not control my visions.  I hollered for help to manage my intuitive gifts and help came from a fellow channeller.

My friend Andrea channelled for me last week and said, " You need to take care of yourself Jo, I can see you lack water.  You need to go for a swim, or be near water, drink plenty of water." So today, I took her advice and went down to the river wth my camera.  Guess what I saw?

Seeing Sparkles Everywhere

I saw sparkles.  I saw sparkles everywhere.  They were glistening in the water as the reflection of the sun bounced across the river when it peeked from behind the clouds after a rain. I saw sparkles across the grass. Sunlight was dancing with the raindrops caught in between the blades of grass.  I saw sparkles in the trees. They were birds fluttering in the branches, shaking the water off their feathers after a rain.   I remembered that the thunderstorm this morning added to my gloom and made me feel even more exhausted to the point of my wanting to head back to bed even after I had showered, changed  and was ready to get out and about.  However, when i took Andrea's advice to get out to a place with water and ended up walking along the river.  That was the best thing I had ever done for myself.

When it rained so heavily earlier, I saw the birds taking shelter in the trees, the grass just opened itself to the warm rains and the river just flowed nonchalantly as it usually did.  Nothing changed.  It was as if they all knew the sun was coming out quite soon.  Within me, I felt that the major shift happening to my spiritual path was like a big rainfall cleansing me from the residual resistance I had about my abilities.  It was cleaning away my preconceived notions about these abilities shaped by my rational mind. Most of all, it was washing away my ego.

When the rain stopped, the sunshine made everything looked cleaner, brighter, better and more beautiful.  It dawned on me that I needed to feel the "thunderstorm" within myself, to understand the "thunderstorm" in the lives of others. And I needed to understand the "thunderstorm" in the lives of others. so that I could add the sunshine back in their lives.  

I whispered my thanks to the Universe for this special message to me.  I knew deep in my heart that if I trusted and surrendered to the ways of the Universe, I would come out of this alright.

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a Tarot consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot,  which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops.  A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association

Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email:  Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot
Blog: http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com

By the Singapore River

At the Kallang Riverside Park. The rain did not stop these tourists from enjoying the sights

At the Kallang Riverside Park.  Watching dragon boaters in action. Looks like hard work.

Having My Runes Read For The First Time

Getting To Know Runes

Yesterday, I chanced upon a Facebook post by Mel, a fellow member of the Tarot Association Of The British Isles (TABI).  He was offering 50% off the fees from his Runes and Tarot readings to help fund the operation of Charlie the donkey.  More information about Charlie and the Animal Rescue that had been helping him can be found here  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Andreas-Animal-Rescue-The-Henrietta-Foundation/101253493301277

Curious about Runes and excited about the opportunity to help Charlie, I then decided to purchase a reading from Mel.  It was my first time having a reading with Runes.  I didn’t even know what Runes were.  Until then, all I knew about Runes were that they were wee pebbles that had weird graffiti on them.

As I did not have a specific question in mind, Mel went ahead to do the reading for me using the Runes from the Anglo Saxon Futhork.  I might just add here that he was super-quick with his response too.  So if you are a skeptic or who are not familiar with Runes, do contact Mel for a reading at www.alfvin-runesandtarot.com

My Rune Reading

This is an extract of the reading Mel did for me with Runes:

The root of the reading is called Peorth.  It is the Rune of the hearth which showed me enjoying a comfortable home environment, and the company of good friends.  This was an accurate depiction of my current state.  I love my home and family and look forward to coming home to them every evening after work. They are my comfort and my joy.  I am also a bit of a social butterfly so my diary is always filled with lunch, dinner, coffee meet-ups and beer o’ clock with friends.

Working against me is the Rune, Nyd.  This Rune denoted need and was at that time a reflection of how I needed immediate gratification and spending on little luxuries like new clothes and massages were just my way  of enjoying some well-deserved pleasure after working so hard.  Ok, sometimes, I spent a little more than I should.  I doted on the family and bought more things for them than I should just to make them happy.  And obviously, for the social butterfly, dining out at nice restaurants is usually an expensive affair in Singapore.  Mel was right.  I was not good at saving money.  With this lifestyle of frivolity while providing financially for my aged parents, grandmother as well as my own family, I definitely had to think about the wisdom of building long-term savings.

The Rune, Wyn, which meant joy, was picked to denote some short term happiness or reward.  We both agreed, that this could possibly line up with the last Rune Nyd  as my spending on the little extras provided me with some instant gratification and I saw it as my bid to reward myself for all the hard work I put in at the office daily.

The Rune, Frig was picked to gain insight on my short term future. Frig corresponded with the Empress card in Tarot which was sometimes interpreted as abundance. It symbolized my reaping some rewards for the hard work put in at the end of the year.  When I discussed this further with Mel, it seemed to resonate with the fact that currently, I have been working hard, building a successful career, and providing for the family .  Most importantly I was enjoying doing what I did and getting paid for it.

The last Rune Mel picked was the Rune of Hagel which corresponded to the Tower in Tarot.  This was the worrying bit.  To quote Mel, he said “There
may be a prolonged period of misfortune.  Hail when it falls can destroy all the crops, all your harvest, so all the plans you’ve been making can go disastrously wrong.  However, once the hail has done its damage, the ice melts and turns to water, re- fertilizing the crops. So in the end, new opportunities will present themselves.  To sum up, don’t be complacent about what you have, don’t gamble or take risks. Take care of all your basic needs and don’t be extravagant.  Acknowledge the joy and abundance you have when and where you find it but be prepared for a long period of misfortune. However, remember that no matter how bad things may become, you will survive and begin perhaps a different path to the one you have planned.”

My Rune reading did not end on a pleasant note but as a professional Tarot reader myself who had to be the messenger of bad news to my clients sometimes, I did understand that the intent behind that reading was to help me prepare for the worst that could happen.  But what was it that could happen?

I had decided to overlay the Rune reading with a Tarot reading.

,
.My Tarot Reading

As Hagel seemed like the most unpleasant Rune that foretold an unexpected change that could impact me negatively, I picked the Tower card to be the significator representing the “hailstorm” Mel alluded to with the appearance of the Rune of Hagel.

I then shuffled the cards and picked 3 cards from it, while asking the question, “What is the key driver of that negativity that the rune Hagel had hinted at ?”  The 3 cards that appeared were the King of Wands reversed, the 4 of Swords reversed and the 3 of Swords reversed.

What an interesting outcome!  All the cards in the spread were reversed cards and 2 out of which were cards from the Swords suit.  This tells me that whatever that could happen would be causing me a lot of anxiety and frustrations.  1 card was a Wands card which often alludes to the fact that the key driver to that negative situation could be related to business, career direction or passions.

When I meditated on the spread, David appeared within my vision.  You see, as spouses, best friends and soulmates, whatever challenges we faced, in good times and in bad, we were committed to be by each other's side.  Whatever affected him, would naturally affect me.  When he was unhappy, I would be unhappy too.

The King of Wands reversed was a message that David might be saddled with huge challenges in  his business from Q3 onwards.  The King of Wands reversed was a card that symbolized his frustrations with the lack of progress in some aspects of his business particularly as it depended on other "moving parts" like his clients' budgets, human resource strategies, and corporate bureaucracy like complex internal approval processes.  It could also bode a hasty business decision made or perhaps the possibility of an impulsive exchange with a difficult client.

The 4 of Swords reversed was a reflection of his increasing frustrations caused by stagnation or lack of progress in his business deals. This is a warning that he should not take a passive approach to the negativity caused by the business challenges.  Instead, he should take the bull by the horn and look at developing a solution-oriented roadmap to get his business back on track, while managing the challenges one by one. 

The King of Wands reversed and 4 of Swords reversed were indicating that there could be substantial strains on the family imposed by these challenges.  I saw an opening of the floodgate of negative emotions, disappointment, anxieties and frustrations felt by David and consequently myself.  

The 3 of Swords reversed however, indicated that we might have issues moving on from the stress caused by the situation.  It was also an advice that we should just let go, and allow that period of negativity to wash over us, then look to the positive side of things.  This would include working together to change our lifestyle, creating a plan to build long term savings, living a life of gratitude for the abundance we have everyday, no matter what challenges life threw at us. If we could avoid a potentially disastrous situation from happening, we should take heed and do what we could to prevent it from happening.  If we could not change a situation, then we needed  to change the way we thought about the situation.  I always believed  that if the Universe had allowed something negative to happen, it would not leave us without the means to deal with it.   

I knew immediately that if David had to face a challenge, then I was the means the Universe had put by his side, to help hold his hands through his journey out of the tunnel and into the light.

Mel was trying to pass me a message from the Runes picked.  He was trying to tell me that  while the Universe had given me a gift to help my clients with my intuition, it had also given me the gift of using the energies of the Rune of Frig,  to support David through that period of darkness alluded by the Rune of Hagel. 

My Numerology Reading

Well, Mel had already done the Rune reading for me, and I had overlaid that reading with a Tarot reading too.  Now, the only thing that can help support these readings was an understanding of the numerological significance of his Personal Year.

David would be treading into his Personal year 5.  This would be a year of changes, challenges and conflicts. He would be faced with choices that required him to think on his feet, perhaps even think out of the box and act on situations almost immediately.  He needed to be adaptable to changes and be less rigid about the way he managed his business.  He had to be nimble enough to look for opportunities within these challenges, and grow from new experiences, create new ideas, and be opened to meeting new people.  The new approach of embracing his business throughout his Personal Year 5 would be critical to reducing any negative impact of sudden changes or challenges to his business.

Bring It On

I am grateful to Mel for such an insightful Rune reading.  I have not thought of learning how to read these graffiti-ridden pebbles yet but the reading had certainly piqued my interest enough to find out more about it.  I also have Charlie the donkey to thank, for without him, I would not have been able to discover the wonders of Runes.  

Finally, David and I have been married for 12 years.  We have been through plenty of ups and downs but because of these tools that Mel and I had, I could better shape our hearts and minds to prepare for that battle that is to come.  We are not afraid of challenges.  Ultimately, the Rune of Hagel, if it corresponded with the Tower card in Tarot, signalled to me that any disruptions to our lives, any signs of destruction to our plans and any major upheaval within our home would be necessary to break existing structures and kick us out of our comfort zone, so that we could rebuild and transform our lives for the better.

So BRING IT ON! 

The images of the cards used in this blogpost were from the Morgan Greer Tarot deck by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan. The Image of the Runes below that were used in my reading was kindly provided by Mel from Alfvin Runes and Tarot.

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She has a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist based in Singapore. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and Biddy Tarot as well as a mentor for the ATA.   She can be contacted atwww.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot