You'll notice that the moon readings have been dropped. Now that a full six months have elapsed - and since there were readings for both hemispheres - all moons have been covered. Rather than fall into redundancy (and on the advice of a couple of emails I've received), I've decided to shorten this column to just the Card Reading.

That's not to say that simple observation of Nature isn't instructive. Just the other day I was dozing in the sun outside and I heard a rustling... rustle-rustle, pop, snap, rustle... crackle-crackle, rustle... I conjured up images of a porcupine or maybe something bigger, like a dog, working its way through the woods. I opened my eyes and gazed into the trees, following the sound.

After a few moments, I found it. A robin.

A robin! A little bird - very dusty from his lunchtime rummaging. I laughed and called to him; told him he was making a racket. He promptly flew to the top of a tree and sang for me. Taught me a tidy lesson about my assumptions.

July's reading holds equal measures of encouragement and nudging. Obviously, now is a time for gratitude, sharing... and a deep, inner certainty that has nothing to do with assumption, but, rather, with who we are, what we want, and how much it's worth to us.

Are you willing to get down in the dirt and the leaves to rummage for that which nourishes your soul? Are you prepared to sing brightly in the sun (no matter the state of your feathers) and share your wisdom with your neighbors? Dusty Redbreast surely is...

The CREATOR Offers Divine Guidance
FIRE MEDICINE - There is a great passion burning within you. You must acknowledge this hunger and come into balance with your inner fire. The sacred fire of life is not just about procreation, but also excitement, adventure, intimacy, spontaneity and passion. Bring these into balance. Release your judgment; let go of fear... spark your passion for life!

The MOTHER Suggests Where You Should Turn Within
FIELD OF PLENTY - It's our magic pocket again! Imagine you can reach into your pocket and magically find whatever critical item you need right this minute. That pocket is the cornucopia - the Horn of Plenty. The Field of Plenty is the mystical place from which the abundance that spills from the Horn of Plenty comes. The Field supplies enough for our needs. Perhaps not wealth or excess, but always enough.

This month the Mother asks us to look within and reexamine what we consider "needs." She asks us to count our blessings, and to share what we have with others in need, also. And, always be grateful that we are able to do so.

The FATHER Directs You To Act Decisively
PAINTED FACE - What does your painted face declare to your community? What gifts are you putting out there for those you love to share in? HAVE you declared your gifts? Whatever the answer, now is not the time to be shy. Father tells you to step boldly forward and share freely of yourself.

The GRANDMOTHER Speaks With the Voice of Your Past
GREAT MYSTERY - The Original Source is the Creator of all life... we are created in that likeness. We are free-willed co-creators who become the source of all we choose to experience in life. The buck stops here.

The buck stops here. Whatever your situation, you created it. Accept it, and the wisdom that it brought you. This goes for JOY, too! Grandmother tell you that what is past is past. What is done is done... now is the time to carefully craft your choices of today.

Turtle Card (EARTH) - Represents Your Current Position, Focus
EAST SHEILD - Turtle is the guy holding the "You Are Here" sign. Since the paths of the East are all about gaining Illumination and/or Clarity, it would appear that you ARE gaining illumination and/or clarity. Congratulations!

Frog Card (WATER) - Represents The Obstacles You Face
PEYOTE CEREMONY - The peyote is a deeply sacred substance used by some Native American people to peek through the crack in the universe and see Truth. Specifically, to see possibility, expansion, and connectedness.

Frog holds this card, suggesting that you may be having trouble accepting the immortal, divine nature of your Being.

Thunderbird Card (FIRE) - Represents The Energies In Motion
SMOKE SIGNALS - Not all communication is spoken or written. You signal your intention (or lack thereof) with every breath you take. Pay close attention to the messages you are sending. Be very sure they attract the kind of attention you want to draw into your life.

Thunderbird declares that your smoke signals are rising into the air even now, as you read this. This very moment, you communicate to the universe precisely what you want to draw your way. What message are you sending?

Butterfly Card (AIR) - Represents The Future Coming To You
NORTH SHIELD - Wisdom is an inner knowing that cannot be traded, sold, or stolen from you. You are in the process of learning a lesson - possibly a painful one. In this process, you are gaining invaluable wisdom.

Butterfly whispers that this process is coming to a close, at last. As this time of testing reaches its conclusion and you claim your newfound power, be sure to mark the event with prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving.

© Vara LorEl, 2009

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
Vara LorEl is a Model Builder at heart, an Exec Admin by training, and a Graphic Designer by experience. She has also worked in a grocery store, a greenhouse, a bank and a bookstore. She's done Customer Service, Construction, Missions and Marketing... and let's not forget the years she studied Bonsai or the uncounted hours spent in a saddle.

Chinking the spaces between, she engages in an ongoing little exercise she likes to call Spiritual Cartography... studying the archetypes found (again and again) in Mythology, I-Ching, and Shamanism, also poking about in Astrology, Numerology, and Tarot, as well as study of the Chakras and eastern philosophies. It could also be noted that she considers Cooking and Gardening to be some of the richest meditational spaces anywhere.

Over the years, she has lived all across these grand United States - from California to Georgia - currently calling Alaska home. When not up to her ears in the next issue of PLW, she can be found in her home office playing Oblivion (way to go Bethesda Softworks!), on her couch reading a good book (with her cats curled nearby), on her soap box talking about any one of a dozen esoteric subjects... or, on her knees thanking GOD for the best life partner to ever embrace her nomadic heart.