Three of Cups

Today is a day to celebrate the relationships in your life. Have fun with friends or family. If that is not possible, then at the very least be grateful for all the people in your life which are a source of joy to you. We all need each other. Show appreciation and remember that you are loved!

For Those of You Who Have Been Told Tarot Cards are Evil or From the Devil, This is For YOU!

I was brought up in a very strict fundamentalist Christian home. When I was little apparently my parents or anyone who wanted to be a member of the particular "denomination" or church had to sign an agreement that they would not own a television. (television was thought to be a tool of the devil). Also many did not believe that women could wear pants or cut their hair, and they certainly could not preach, teach, or hold any type of leadership position in the church.

We were not allowed to go to the fair. The carnival was okay as long as it was the fireman's carnival and not any other of those "evil" societies  who put on carnivals. Disney movies were definitely a "NO NO". I went to my first movie when I was sixteen and even then I was hoping the rapture did not happen while I was there or maybe I might get "left behind."

For those of you who have never heard of "the rapture" it was, and still is the belief that at some point Jesus is coming back to earth to take all of those to heaven who have accepted him as savior and leave everyone else here to be eventually taken to hell after seven years of tribulation. We won't go into that in this blog.


The common theme in all of the aforementioned rules is the theme of "fear". We were afraid of the power of the devil. We were afraid of God sending us to hell. Apparently it is still a common theme in some churches. I do not lump all sects of Christianity together just as you should not lump everyone together who believe in any specific religion. There are as many ways to interpret the Bible and other Sacred texts as there are fish in the sea. The point I am making here is that if your Higher Power makes you afraid, maybe you should change your viewpoint. I now believe that LOVE is the supreme attribute of my Higher Power, and I do not have a label for this FORCE which would put me into any particular category.

But back to the fear of tarot cards.

Tarot cards in some sects of various faiths are thought to be a tool of the devil, along with anything that does not appear in the Bible as "okay."



I don't specifically remember any mention of the tarot the many times that I read the Bible, but I guess it was lumped into a category of those things that weren't specifically inspired by God. However, in my experience with the tarot, I cannot say that they are not inspired by "God" when some of the messages I receive when reading them are nothing less than inspirational! I know that the information is coming from a Force higher than me as I could not possibly imagine the stuff that is revealed to me in a reading.



I began receiving messages from the Holy Spirit when I began attending a church that believed in prophecy. I may have heard messages before this, but I was extremely shy and was not someone who would have shared anything I received so I never really acknowledged the gift before then.

Fast forward many years later. Now I hear messages from the same Voice who was talking to me then. Some would argue that since I don't label myself a Christian anymore or call the Voice the Holy Spirit or Jesus that I am really hearing messages from the devil. At this point in my spiritual journey, I tend to dislike labels. I still talk to Jesus. And He is okay with what I do. However, in my spiritual journeys, I also have run into other Higher Powers that are not necessarily connected to Jesus. I have not felt fear in their presence, but only LOVE.

In my estimation the "devil" could be classified as an entity or thought form whose prime goal is to make our lives miserable. He would be the antithesis of anything that connected us with our Higher Power, God, Love or Enlightenment. In the tarot the card of the devil represents anything that holds you captive. That could be anything. Now I believe that anything that keeps us from walking the highest path is not going to send us to damnation eternally. Just like if I had a child who misbehaved I would not sentence him or her to death. Most of the time I believe we create our own experience of the devil. Like attracts like. If I am walking my path with love, I will not run into the opposite that often.

The tarot in itself has no power. The cards of the tarot consist of 78 cards with various pictures on them which as a whole represent the various qualities of human experience. When the cards originally appeared in history, it is thought that they were nothing more than playing cards. Oh, but, I forgot. Playing cards when I was a child were evil too.

When I was a child one of the games we were allowed to play was dominoes. Did you know that originally dominoes were used as a tool of divination? This is a little known fact.

When I connect with the cards of the tarot, I am connecting with my Higher Self, the Higher Self of the seeker, and the Highest Beings of Love and Light (I call them this just to allow for whatever people may call their Higher Power, since I believe that LOVE is the only rule as to Who is a Higher Power and Who is not).

If a card reading brings someone comfort, relief, information that makes their life better, happier, or leads them to a higher path, how can it be that the reading is orchestrated by any entity called the devil?

As I have evolved in my own personal belief system, I am of the belief that LOVE is from GOD, GODDESS, OR SOURCE,  and FEAR is from the opposite of that. If you want to call the opposite of LOVE the devil, that is up to you.

I believe that I am connected to the Source of Love, as you are. We are all connected. We are also connected to the plants, the animals, and everything that comes into our experience. Does that mean we are also connected to the devil? Perhaps.

If I believe that everything comes into my experience for a reason, that I can learn from every experience, then I guess the answer is yes. I can learn from my challenges. I don't blame them on an entity that is out for my distruction. As a matter of fact, since I stopped being afraid of him, I haven't run into him lately. Other than the occasional difficult day, life is pretty pleasant and enjoyable.

I can get a message from a cloud, from a rock, from a series of numbers that appear to me repetitively, from a song on the radio, from a movie, from a stranger talking in another aisle in the grocery store, from a random synchronicity. I don't NEED the cards of the tarot to deliver messages. But people like them. Photos say in an instant what might take me several minutes to express verbally.

I could say, hmm, did you have a difficult year last year? Or I could show them this picture:

Bottom line is, Spirit wants to communicate with us. They want to give us help and advice for our lives. Symbols are the easiest way for them to come through. It is a lot easier for Spirit to send me a picture of something than to say.. Joy, tell them that they are going to learn a difficult truth which is going to upset their world, but in the end the truth will set them free ( the basic meaning of the tower card.)

I guess what I want to say to you is this. If the cards of the tarot invoke fear in you, then stay away from them. Connect to your Higher Power in a way that makes you feel LOVE and JOY.  But don't judge others who may be able to connect to their Higher Power or Higher Wisdom through the cards.

LOVE is the only rule.

HERE is a Bible verse to back me up:

1 Corinthians 13New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecyand can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Just in case the images I have posted here are your only exposure to the tarot, you may feel like the images on the cards have a tendency to invoke fear. Not so. Even my least favorite card, the tower, has a positive application. Truth. Sometimes when we learn the truth it can be difficult or life changing. However, if we apply the truth to improving our lives, then the final outcome can be positive. Like this card:


This is the card of happy endings! To all of you I wish for you a happy ending! And remember, there is really no such thing as an ending. Every ending has within it a new beginning!

Just for today, expand your viewpoint. Know that there is more than one way to look at everything. Look at all of your beliefs from another perspective. Life is more than you think.

Three of Pentacles

Today your hard work may be recognized.  You may be working with others on a project or lending your expertise to those who could benefit from your skills. Don't be afraid to collaborate with those with whom you may feel you have nothing in common. All will benefit from the collaboration.

Five of Wands

Don't be surprised if you run into some conflict today. This is the card of petty disagreements. You can rise above the conflict and send love to all parties concerned. Conflict can only affect you if you engage in it. Walk away or refuse to engage and you will find yourself in peace despite what is going on around you.

Seven of Cups

Your options are limitless!  You have so many options, and within each option is an opportunity to learn or experience a part of life or discover something about yourself. Beware of living in a fantasy world. Yes, you could do a million different things if you won today's  lottery, but how will that expand your experience of life? It's okay to dream, but it is important to also live in reality.

Ace of Pentacles

Today is a new beginning. You are being given a gift of something that will prove to be very valuable to you! No I am not saying you are going to win the lottery. Money is only a reflection of your inner treasure. When what is on the inside of you becomes your greatest treasure, you will know true happiness. Today is a great day to decide what is truly important.

Seven of Clubs

When I picked this card this morning I had just picked up the deck and this one was on the bottom of the deck. I noticed it, and then shuffled the deck and drew. Here it is again. As it appears, this card represents  a conflict. Sometimes it represents an inner conflict since there are no other people in the picture. You may feel backed into a corner or that you have run out of options. If this is the case, know this. You are never out of options. This too shall pass. Sometimes it helps if you spend a little time just sitting quietly and sending love to yourself and to any other people involved in the conflict. Ask yourself: what else is possible?

If today's message speaks to you, know you can always rise above conflict, even if the conflict is within your own soul. I send you love and light to a peaceful resolution.

Page of Pentacles

Today is a day to learn something new. Maybe it is a good day to reexamine what things are most important to you. Decide where to invest in yourself and your future.  Maybe sign up for a class and learn something new. The theme for today is value. What is valuable to you and how are you going to run with that information?

Four of Pentacles

Are you afraid of losing what is valuable to you? Sometimes holding on too tight to things that mean a lot to us cause those things to go running the other way. Perhaps today would be a good day to surrender to the Universe all your plans, your ideas, your relationships,and, yes, even your money. I am not saying give away everything but in your heart, know this. Nothing is permanent. Everything changes. And it is all okay. What is meant to be yours cannot be taken from you.

Justice

Today is a day for the scales to balance. What comes around goes around, as the old saying goes. Whether the scales balance in your favor or not depend more on your heart than whether or not you feel you have justice owed to you. If you are hoping your enemies fall into misfortune today then you have missed the message. There is an old proverb that says never wish misfortune on your enemies lest the Universe turn his wrath upon you.

Ska Kanga--- White Bird

A few years ago when I first started sharing my intimate experiences with shamanism, I was contacted by a Lakota medicine man via email. He wanted to know what credentials I  had to call myself a shaman. Shamanism and Native American medicine are a holy belief system, and many call themselves shamans who have no connection with the real craft.

I admitted to him that I had studied with some different traditions, but did not call myself a shaman and did not feel I had the right to do so. Callling someone a shaman should come from the community that the shaman serves. I do practice shamanism, and Spirit has given me some gifts and information directly that did not come from any teaching I have received. I teach a version of shamanism which I like to call an ingredient in the Cosmic Soup that I have either learned or been given directly by Spirit.

We emailed back and forth a couple times, and I related an experience that I had early on in my spiritual quest when I first began to study different belief systems. I was in a group meditation, and the facilitator had put on some Native American music. Imediately I had a vision of being in a Native American community. I was dead, and I was sitting atop a tall structure seemingly made out of wood. I was looking down on my beloved community, crying with them because I did so much love them. I realized that I was having a previous life memory.

After a few moments of experiencing the grief of leaving my beloved community, in my vision I turned into a large white bird and flew away.

At this point, after sharing my story, my new Native American friend gave me a Lakota name: Ska Kanga, which means White Bird. Apparently it is significant in his culture and from then on we were email friends.

Recently I purchased two handmade drums from him. He hand crafted them while sitting in ceremony and they are very special to me. I have since used them in my practice with clients with some amazing results.



I guess my message is this. I tell this to my students in every class I teach.

Credentials are worthless. I can teach you Reiki and give you a certificate that says you have passed whatever level you have taken from me. I can teach you everything I know and give you a paper that says that you studied with me. But your credentials are the difference you make in people's lives. Are you benefiting those who come to you for help?

If I cease making a difference in my client's lives then I will take down my website and my Facebook page and I will sit on the beach or be content with my "other" job at the Post Office.

Ska Kanga is my Lakota name. I am honored to have been gifted this name by my Lokota friend/medicine man. But my connection with Spirit is the credentials I most covet. I want to make a difference in the lives of those to whom I am given the opportunity to serve.

If you desire to connect with Spirit through me, you can contact me HERE.

Blessings to you as you navigate your path through this life and find your contribution to the planet.

Ace of cups

Almost the opposite of yesterday's card, today's card is the ace of cups. New beginnings in the area of relationships today. Maybe that means a fresh start on an already established relationship or it could mean you may meet someone new who will change your life in some way. In a sense, we could say that everyone we meet in a day's time has something to teach us or a gift to give us. Even the challenging people in our lives can teach us something. Look for the gift within every interaction you have today.

I Hardly ever get this card! Five of cups

Today you may feel isolated or need to take some time away from one or more of your relationships. If you feel lonely, try doing something to raise your vibration. Exercise is my favorite way of lifting my mood. It is good for my body and my emotions. The important thing is:don't  cut yourself off from those who love you. Take the time you need to sort out your emotions,  then pick yourself up and move forward.

Temperance

Today is a day to go with the flow. Balance is the key. Don't  get over emotional, but on the other hand, don't harden your heart. The Angels (or whoever you call your Highest Available Help) are around to help you achieve balance today. The key word for today is BALANCE.

Queen of Wands

Today is a wonderful day to own your power. Count your blessings and know that you are completely in charge of how the rest of your life turns out. You are not a victim of circumstances! Although we cannot always control the things that happen to us, we are totally in control of how we deal with those things. Choose to always react with love and watch your life transform!