Session 1 - November 2nd

Dalmation Dad

Rabbit

Young Deer

Contemplating: the creator + the orphan archetype

Guidance: Two of Earth

Prompt:

Can you catch your mind shutting down your intuition this week? Could be words or could be a vision, a day dream etc. Can you widen that space between an intuitive ping/heart’s knowing/etc and your mental voice jumping in to “correct it”? Even if it’s just acknowledging the dynamic. What can unfold in that spaciousness? What sensations come up in your body? Where is your mind censoring your heart? And Why?

BEGINNINGS

“Beginnings often frighten us because they seem like lonely voyages into the unknown. Yet, in truth, no beginning is empty or isolated. We seem to think that beginning is setting out from a lonely point along some line of direction into the unknown. This is not the case. Shelter and energy come alive when a beginning is embraced. Goethe says that once the commitment is made, destiny conspires with us to support and realize it. We are never as alone in our beginnings as it might seem at the time. A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open toward the gifts and growth that are stored up for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.

Perhaps beginnings make us anxious because we did not begin ourselves. Others began us. Being conceived and born, we eventually enter upon ourselves already begun, already there. Instinctively we grasp onto and continue within the continuity …

There is a certain innocence about beginning, with its excitement and promise of something new. But this will emerge only through undertaking some voyage into the unknown. And no one can foretell what the unknown might yield. There are journeys we have begun that have brought us great inner riches and refinement; but we had to travel through dark valleys of difficulty and suffering. Had we known at the beginning what the journey would demand of us, we might never have set out. Yet the rewards and gifts became vital to who we are. Through the innocence of beginning we are often seduced into growth.”

-John O’Donohue To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Prompts:

When should you begin?

What does beginning look like for you? (possibly challenging the notion of beginning)

Are you procrastinating or preparing?

What expectation/beliefs were you born into that may cloud or cause static or anxiety when you tune into your unique channel of truth?

*With the multiple mentions of Father and the overall context of re-parenting “the Orphan” and moving from truth while navigating the current societal landscape we are in this particular card description came to mind - the energy of the Grand Father. (from Vision Quest Tarot - Gayan Silvie Winter and Jo Dose)

Grand Father (relates to the Emperor)

In essence: protection - generous benefactor - ruling by serving - position of responsibility - help in moments of need - wisdom - elevation - nobility - courage - authority - reliability

Inner Message: The power of the Grand Father is always alive in us. As soon as you recollect this part of yourself, its qualities are yours. The Grand Father may also represent the physical father you never had or who was not there for you. Generally he stands for the ability to take matters into your own hands while granting you inner child the certainty that it will be protected and well taken care of. He represents the power of the grown man who has welcomed and integrated his feminine side. This makes him an inwardly complete unity. His intentions are no longer divided, so he can use his full authority for the benefit of beings everywhere.

Outward Manifestations: Drawing the Grand Father signifies that it is time to stop hiding your inherent strengths. Reveal them for all the world to see! Respect your inner authority and exude it - even at work. True responsibility is a responsiveness to life. Do not hide from this. You have gathered enough experiences and realizations. Now use them for your benefit and that of everyone else. The ability to grant spiritual as well as material help and protection to others is a tremendous gift. Remember the generosity of the buffalo. He gives of himself, he continuously emanates his strength. You too must give away without hesitation what the Great Spirit has bestowed on you in its infinite generosity.

BLESSINGS

From: -John O’Donohue To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Prompt:

Awakening your power to bless: If you were to write a blessing for yourself right now what would it address? or what aspect of your journey could use a blessing? if you feel up for it give it a go.

IN PRAISE OF FIRE 

Let us praise the grace and risk of Fire.

In the beginning,

The Word was red,

And the sound was thunder,

And the wound in the unseen

Spilled forth the red weather of being.

In the name of the Fire,

The Flame

And the Light:

Praise the pure presence of fire

That burns from within

Without thought of time.

The hunger of Fire has no need

For the reliquary of the future;

It adores the eros of now,

Where the memory of the earth

In flames that lick and drink the air

Is made to release

Its long-enduring forms

In a powder of ashes

Left for the wind to decipher.

As air intensifies the hunger of fire,

May the thought of death

Breathe new urgency

Into our love of life.

As fire cleanses dross,

May the flame of passion

Burn away what is false.

As short as the time

From spark to flame,

So brief may the distance be

Between heart and being.

May we discover

Beneath our fear

Embers of anger

To kindle justice.

May courage

Cause our lives to flame,

In the name of the Fire,

And the Flame

And the Light.

FOR A NEW BEGINNING 

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.