29 August 2013

The Hanged Man and Homemade Prayer Flags

I've been thinking about the hanged man in tarot lately. For a string of questions about decisions to be made, he would show up somewhere in the spread. This is what he looks like:




My understanding from interpretations I have read is that he is hanging from his own free will. He is voluntarily gaining a new perspective of his surroundings. Things had gotten stale and stuck with the current vision, so he has flipped to see what he's been missing. Gathering information. The halo around his head stands for enlightenment- he has found his way in this pose. Know what else I just thought of? How he is detaching. Asking us to detach from our perspectives and expectations, to find actual truth.

THM is also a paradoxical card- doing the opposite of what seems natural to do. It is not natural to most to flip and do the opposite of your reaction, but sometimes our reactions are simply that, and do not help us to find resolution in our queries and problems.

How I've seen this as a lesson in my own life- when I'm frustrated or irritated with someone close to me, and my reaction is to distance myself, or back away, instead, doing the opposite. Instead of creating more distance, offering up peace. Talking. Putting energy in while stepping away from my emotions.

Not that I'm saying to neglect your intuition in a toxic relationship, or anything. Far from it. Just telling how I have seen THM play out for me. And I know it's only the tip of the iceberg, that there are many other ways I can expand my vision to help me move forward with this decision making process that seems overwhelming to me. :) Sometimes I feel frustrated when I see this card- I AM trying to expand my perspective and get more info! WHY isn't it working? Sometimes I get caught up in and distracted by questions rather than just moving toward what I want.


Oh, and for those of you who were following the post about altars and such, I wanted to share a photo of prayer flags my son and I made together. It was SUPER easy to do, just construction paper with whatever we wanted drawn or painted on them, taped onto string, which is taped to the wall. Easy peasy. :)



I'd love to hear about your thoughts/experiences with The Hanged Man! xo

27 August 2013

Mt Blue Meditations

Happy Virgo Season!

Virgo is a mutable Earth sign. So I thought it was fitting that I spent the first weekend of Virgo camping. I got a little Virgo-y a.k.a. organized with the maps at one point too: 



(Side note: I want to start mapping things old-school again. We had no service at our campsite, and I felt like it was a nice reminder to start doing so again.)

On the note of Virgo, I am feeling the shift in signs. My nerves are acting up a bit, and I think that I need to reduce my caffeine intake to help this. I drank SO MUCH COFFEE over the weekend and I think it just flooded me. Back to the Tetley for me, for the time being. That's what I did for breakfast, but made coffee late morning and it didn't agree with me. I also want to devote more time daily to stretching/light yoga. And meditating. And going for more walks. Virgo likes healthy routines.

Anyway, I wanted to share some photos from our weekend, camping in Western Maine. It took me back to being much younger, spending time on the lake. When I wasn't swimming or playing I'd be reading or drawing. The simplicity and also richness of being in nature, unplugged, was something I wasn't even aware of that I desperately needed. And now I am blogging about it. Yay irony.


Driving into the park. Western Maine mountains.

Campfire. Nothing like it. I love that the scent followed us home on our clothing.

Boats.

On the dock at sunset.

Perfect lake.

Taking a dip.



Happy Tuesday. Happy Virgo. Sending peace.

14 August 2013

zen homes and altars


I'm in the process of downsizing. Releasing objects from my home that I no longer need is a wonderful feeling. Clutter gives me anxiety to look at. I have a craving for the minimal. 


from lisa congdon



I also have a three year old. And live in a small space. So clutter can, and does, happen quickly. The recycling area and dishes in the kitchen, books and photo prints left on the dining table, and the TOYS- look a lot more offensive in small spaces- it's less forgiving.

Slowly, I am getting there though. The thought of having less stuff is a freeing one. Less holding me down, less visual clutter entering my mental sphere.

While I am for sure no pro on the matter (my home is really messy at this writing), here are some tips that currently work for me in getting my space at least somewhat zen.

1. Do it for the zen.
Your entire living space is not going to be immaculate all the time. You do LIVE there, ya know? Perfection is not the goal here. However. It is very, very possible to have an area or two, away from the reaches of children and high traffic areas, that are simple and clean-looking. For me, it's the top shelf of a changing table turned shelving unit. I have six items on the top shelf (the other two hold toys), and that's it. I make a (small) effort to keep it this way. It's easy because it's so minimal. In a sea of chaos, there is a slice of calm. :)

2. The less you have, the better everything looks.
I used to clean houses for a job. One thing I learned from going into various homes was that the houses that looked the best BEFORE cleaning were the ones that had less stuff. Fewer possessions overall. And the possessions that were there seemed tastefully selected. These would be neater in part because they HAD less to clean up, organize, and so on. Instead of attempting to organize too much crap, there was simply less of it. Once I saw this in person it all seemed so clear to me!

3. Make regular trips to goodwill. 
Or have regular clothing/stuff swaps, or consignment trips, or eBay listings. If you can, designate a basket or bag on a door knob to toss the things you'll be donating. This way it's an ongoing process, and is a much smaller step than attempting to sort through huge piles at a time and then getting overwhelmed and going to do something else!

4. Consider creating an altar.
On the same note as point one, having an altar can be a great way to keep an area free of clutter. Basically, an altar consists of a space- I'm limited in that area so I use the top of my dresser  in our bedroom- where you keep meaningful and inspirational objects to look at as often as you please. Another slice of calm in the chaos.

Ideas for altars: Oracle cards with a card for the day. Stones or crystals you connect with. Written intentions. Inspiring/spiritual figurines. A photo or two that elates you. Artwork. Prayer flags/beads. Flowers. Pine cones. A candle or two. A singing bowl. A chime. Whatever. This space can be as non/multi-denominational or as religious as you wish. Or it can just feature elements that are important to you.

Some inspiration...
From artnlight


simple

from apartment therapy


buddha
botanical altar from ecosalon

from crafty chick's cuppa coffee

love this outdoor altar from hidden hills garden




ganesha teacup altar from leigh's wiccan boutique

I'm so inspired now from cruising photos of altars on pinterest. I'm going to give mine a makeover soon! I'll post a photo after I do.



Well this post certainly took an unexpected tangent! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and please feel free to share your tips and tricks- or a photo of your altar- in the comments!

Wednesday Roundup

I'm going to be listing some of my favorite blog posts and videos for today. But first, the moon is currently in Scorpio, and moving into Sagittarius this afternoon. Expect your mood to lighten with this shift! These days I think of the Sag moon as a break between Scorpio and Capricorn moons, both of which make some uncomfortable aspects with other planets in the sky right now, which can feel heavy.

Okay, I'm feeling pulling a card for y'all today. What to embrace right now.




From Steven Farmer's Earth Magic deck- Iceberg. Submerged.

How fitting for this Scorpio moon. This card is about dealing with your shadow aspects. The parts of yourself that you try to keep out of your conscious awareness, because it is uncomfortable, icky, youjustwanttothinkaboutanythingelse. So we stuff it down. Like the tip of an iceberg, it rears it's head with shame and guilt, while the bulk of it lies beneath our consciousness.

Now is the time to embrace this. Instead of shunning it, hugging it, so to speak. Sending love there instead of shame. Dissolving the blocks. A little at a time. Maybe it's a dream you have but feel it's impossible to attain, maybe it's something far yuckier, but either way embrace it. Right now is the time to get in touch with this and allow the flow of feeling without self-judgement. Feeling things is natural. The feeling can lead to healing.


Anyway... the links.

Wonderful article on the current Neptune retrograde and how you may be experiencing it from Starcana.

A really inspiring post about walking away from corporate life by Biddy Tarot.

Some asteroid talk featuring Juno from Aliza at MoonPluto Astrology.


If you're interested, here are the videos I'm queuing up for myself when I make the time.

Weekly horoscopes by Chris at SoulGarden. I like to watch for both my sun sign and rising.

Doreen Virtue's latest three-card reading for the week here.

Monthly horoscopes by Kelley Rosano. She's already into September, but her August ones are available as well!

It's not up yet, but the weekly Pele Report should be up later today.


I've been having some minor issues with subscriptions being delayed in getting sent to people! I'm working on a solution. In the meantime, if you're on facebook, feel free to like my page (make sure to select "show all" for posts) to keep current. Thank you!

12 August 2013

Test

Hello! I've been having some issues with subscriptions on my blog, so I am doing a test post to see if this reaches you, and if so, what URL it directs you to. Hopefully it just takes you to thesewanderingstars.com, but some people have been having problems, so please let me know if you are! As a precaution I've updated the subscription form on my blog, so if all else fails re-subscribing there should work.

Thank you!
Caroline

08 August 2013

Rough Days

Today was a rough day.

It's kind of been a rough week.

I can think of possible reasons- settling back into our "normal" routine after travel/having company. Everyone in the dang house having terrible and less sleep than usual, which is never a story for success. Or maybe we're all just grumpy for no good reason.

Some people seem to be easily able to pull themselves out of such slumps. I wish I were one of them. I have a history with depression, and I can recognize some of its symptoms within me on days like today, weeks like this week. I feel like time is flying and I'm not doing all the things I need/want to do. I need to slow down. I need more self-care. I think I will skip out on coffee for the rest of the week, even though I just picked up half a pound of Jim's Organic Sweet Love dark roast blend, and it will be tortuous not indulging myself in the morning when I feel like I can't even function. I need a pause from the jittery mental state.

Today was a day where my emotions got the better of me. I had to remember to give hugs, show love, to diffuse some power struggles. And yes, I'm having a margarita as I type this.

What's the point of this? Oh. I suppose, I'm trying to say that we all have rough days (or weeks), and it's okay. I think it's part of the human condition. We don't need to get hung up on hating ourselves for it. Take care of yourself, do or watch something silly to lift your spirits, whatever. Learn from today to make tomorrow better.

xoxo Thanks for reading.