The Morning Hours, Shadowplay and Some Meditation Conversation

Good Morning Starshine! 

There is something about the early hours of the morning that just does it for me.  When everyone else in my house is still asleep; when the countryside is silent and the sun is barely peeking over the horizon.  I do my best blogging in the morning, my best reading, my best photography, collaging, journaling... This is when I am at my most creative, my most powerful and my most grounded.  These are the crisp hours, the new hours.  These hours still have new car smell, new baby smell, fucking morning breath, I don't know. My phone isn't ringing, I'm not being asked to help with anything, to do anything, to be anywhere... These hours are mine. This is my time. 

**Time~out. I need to refill my coffee.  Einen moment bitte...**

I found a patch of sun on the wall in the kitchen.  It distracted me for a good ten minutes.  Inspiration struck and I went with it.  The important thing is that my coffee is now refilled and I am feeling quite peppy.  Let the blogging commence!!!

 When I started this blog, my vision was to go through the major arcana and blog about each card.  "The Fool's Journey"... yada, yada, yada.  Typical.  Welp, shit happens and in true Jonquil fashion, I changed my mind.  It's what I do.  It's kind of my thing.  Ask my brother.  My more recent blog posts have been pretty off the cuff and in the moment. This post is no different and I don't see this changing anytime in the foreseeable future.  I like it.  It seems more my style. 

What does this mean for you as a reader?  Basically, it means that things may get a little chaotic. (also my style, FYI.) I'll probably ramble.  I'll likely get off topic.  I'll, no doubt, produce blog posts that are just me riffing on topics that have made their presence known in my life somehow or that I just find fucking interesting and want to talk about.  It also means that I will be asking for interaction; feedback, ideas for future blog topics, your views, your beliefs, your concerns... Pretty much, I want to build a relationship with you, my droogs, my readers, my siblings in this crazy, kooky, world of cyber wondrousness and magick.  I want to talk with you.  To create content that you want to read and that you connect with.  I want you to leave my page feeling loved, heard, fulfilled and inspired.  BREATH JONQUIL!!!  And... Scene. *curtseys*

Moving on...

As most of you already know, I am working solely with the Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot for the Spring season and I have been working my way back through Kim Huggens' Tarot 101 using this daintily sweet, feminine deck that I am absolutely in fucking love with. 

Side note:  I'm going to make a suggestion, if I may... If you are a tarot reader (novice, intermediate, expert... it makes absolutely no difference) and you want to really connect with your working deck or you are looking to further your knowledge of the tarot in general, purchase Tarot 101 by Kim Huggens immediately.  You will not regret it.  There are literally hundreds of journal prompts, ideas galore, insights, exercises, spreads... I could talk about the benefits of owning this book for DAYS.  Look, if you don't own it, buy it.  Here is a link to the book on Amazon.

 

Focus, Jonquil, focus...

Three card draw to give direction to this post: 

Three of Wands:  Perched atop a leafless tree, a trail of roses in her wake and a fox hot on her heels, this winged beauty sits in contemplation, head bowed and hands clasped.  The three of wands urges you to pause.  She reminds you to take a moment to reflect on what's happening, not only around you, but also within.  Be aware of any dangers that may be lurking in your vicinity, ground yourself and take your time in making necessary changes to your goals before resuming your journey. 

 

The High Priestess: A mountainous, selenite~esque figure stands in a snowy wonderland amongst a few scattered, boney trees.  Her crown floats; hovering, seemingly twirling above her head and her left hand is lain lightly over her heart; a gesture of compassion.  On her face, a serene look of knowing; of intuition, feminine power and confidence.  This card is representative of our own intuition.  Trust in it.  Be confident in it... I cannot remember where I heard this recently but I was listening to a podcast or a YouTube video that was talking about keeping an intuition journal as a sort of intuition building exercise.  The thought behind it was that you build confidence in your intuitive inklings by recording them in a journal and then following up regarding whether your intuition was right or wrong.  I would love to give credit where credit is due for that fantastic idea... if you know what it was I was listening to, please link it in the comments!        

Eight of Wands: Seated comfortably with both feet flat on the floor, the delicately winged figure in this card slowly lets her eyes slide closed and turns her attention inward.  In her hands are clutched multiple strings on the ends of which illuminated fireflies dance. This is a card of meditation and divine  communication.  Meditation, going within, consideration and contemplation is a crucial part of spirituality, regardless of which spiritual path, if any, you are currently resonating with.  I know I am not alone when I say I struggle with making meditation a part of my routine.  I'm consistently running late in the morning, I hold a job during the day, the evenings are filled with dinner, dishes, laundry, then there is family; my husband and the spawn, they demand attention every now and again... It's an age~old excuse.  I don't have time to meditate.  But I don't have time for excuses anymore.  The fact is, I do have time to meditate.  Having a spiritual practice means that you set aside time to practice being spiritual!  That's the fucking definition!  That's what it IS! 


My goal for this month is to practice practicing; to meditate daily, to spend less time talking about spirituality and more time practicing spirituality.  A worthy goal indeed  in my opinion and one I am determined to see through. 

Now, this witch needs tea... I hope you all have a fantastic week!  I would love to hear feedback; What would you like to see on the blog? What do you want to talk about?  Leave me a comment and let me know! 

I love you all equally and unabashedly...

Ta~ta for now!

~Jonquil



Art Angels, The Hanged Man and Very, VERY Strange Days Indeed...

Good Morning Bunnies,

Happy Spring (or Fall, depending on which hemisphere you are in)!  Here in Nebraska, the rain is falling, there are buds on the trees and blooms on the bushes... Hopefully we've reached the end of the snow.  We shall see!

Yesterday, whilst browsing the aisles at my local Barnes and Noble Bookseller, Claire Boucher caught my eye on the cover of the Spring/Summer issue of AnOther Magazine.  For those who don't know, Claire Boucher, AKA Grimes, is a Canadian singer, songwriter of the fucking awesome variety.  Check it the fuck out. That's an order.  Moving on... A sucker for good collaging fodder, fashion mags and reading about my favorite artists, this absolute monster of a zine made it's way home with me along with the newest issue of Hi*Fructose.

 (Both fucking stellar magazines.  You should pick them up and have a gander if you haven't already.) 

 

A completely expected but nonetheless welcome thing occurred while flipping through Hi*Fructose... I found an artist that I am now completely enamored with!  Jenny Morgan is a New York based artist who's work is absolutely phenomenal, but here's the kicker... I am pretty sure she, in some way, shape or form, is inspired by Tarot!  I came across a picture of a painting she did called POV that immediately, and I believe purposefully, reminded me of card number XII of the major arcana, The Hanged Man. 

 

Voila!  BLoG ToPiC!!! 

 

Oftentimes, the poor Hanged Man is viewed as a negative card by both querents and readers.  There is something about the way he is positioned and his complete and utter upside~down~ish~ness that says, "Well shit, this can't be good."  But, fear not, lovelies!  Take a look at the hanged man... Yes, he is upside down, but look at it this way: Did you ever, as a child or even as an adult, hang your head off the side of your bed or the couch and look at your surroundings upside down?  If not, take a moment to try it,  I'll wait.

 

 

...  ...  ... 

 

Did you do it?  Good.  I'm going to guess that you noticed at least one thing that you had not noticed before, had forgotten about or hadn't even given a second thought... am I right?  Now imagine all of the weird shizzle that the Hanged Man must be seeing or noticing for the first time from his vantage point! 

When the Hanged Man shows up in a spread, I tend to look at him, not in a negative fashion, but as an opportunity for the querent to look at their situation from a new point of view.  Take whatever it is you are inquiring about and turn it upside down.  What does it look like now?  What is different about the situation from this angle?  Now turn yourself upside down and keep the situation upright.  See anything you didn't notice before?  Chances are the answer is yes.

There are infinite ways of looking at a situation and, while some readers view the Hanged Man as a hold up, a period of non~movement, or stagnation, I like to see it as necessary suspension in order to sort out all the different points of view and decide on the one that most resonates with you; the one that you want to adopt as your own for the time being.   There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking some time out in order to get your poop in a group. 


 

I don't remember for the life of me where I read this way of interpreting the Hanged Man, but it's worth mentioning... When the Hanged Man shows up for you, make sure you are watching your pocketbook.  From his position, it is inevitable that anything contained within the Hanged Man's pockets, unless prevented from doing so, will fall out. During times of necessary suspension, it can be quite easy to let your finances, budget or spending habits get out of control.  Self~love and pampering yourself is healthy in moderation. Be conscious of your finances and make sure you are not overspending on unnecessary, material goods or being too generous toward others. 

Take a look at the Nicoletta Ceccoli depiction of the Hanged Man (pictured left).  In this version, while remaining right~side~up, the figure in the card is gaining new perspectives by simply growing another head... what better way to view things from different angles than to have a whole new set of eyes from which to peer!  Certainly something to ponder and to keep in mind for future readings in which the Hanged Man makes an appearance.


Now... Go forth, grow heads and do headstands and shit! I hope this was helpful.

Have a fuckin' killer day!

Much love,

~Jonquil