Message Received...

I try to start each day off with pulling a card.  Sometimes I'll pull two if I need further clarification.  Sometimes I'll do a full spread if I'm really perplexed.  I find that the cards are helpful in providing guidance and allowing me to gain perspective.  I believe that each of us carries with us the fingerprint of the Divine, that we are all connected and if we listen with our hearts, we can hear the hidden message.  While we can feel isolated, stranded in our individuality, science tells us that we are all connected on a sub-atomic level.  I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in Quantum Theory, but there's the String Theory that says that the building blocks of the Universe is made up of tiny string particles and waves and that those fibers are woven together and we are all connected through a concept that Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement.  We are connected to our neighbors and loved ones, we are connected to strangers, we are connected to the cosmic movements of the heavens... because there is an unconditional bond that binds us on an infinitesimal scale.  If we are connected to the Universe or God or the Divine, or whatever you want to call It, why can't we be conduits to the messages?  Whether you believe in all that, I find that the practice of pulling a card helpful for me.

This morning, I pulled the Death Card.  I use the Wild Unknown deck designed and created by Kim Krans.  In this deck, the illustration depicts a desiccated bird.  While it can be scary at first to pull this card, I think Kim does a great job at outlining that it's not necessarily a bad thing.  It signifies closure and an ending.  It can be sad when things end, but once that chapter is closed, a new one can start.  Life is miraculous like that.  When one thing ends, another begins... and there's a beauty of transformation.

I think that when you're in tune with the message, our life can be filled with omens or signs.  This is can be dangerous, because sometimes people can lose themselves in these portents and allow them to give power to their anxieties and apprehensions.  They stop seeing it as guidance and see it as edict.  When we live in fear, we surrender to it and become slaves to it.  So, it's important to remember that while the world is full of symbols and signs, that we must acknowledge the beauty of our own paths and that those paths are designed maybe by the Divine or our own cause and effect relationship with the Universe to educate, inform, and enlighten our spirits.  Simply put: Listen and learn.

After I drew the Death Card, part of me was reflecting on what it could mean.  I was searching my heart for a deeper meaning.  Since it's blueberry season, every morning, before it gets too hot, I go out to pick them.  When I go out on walks and have a question in my heart, I ask that I see a sign.  Sometimes it is a lightning strike of information and sometimes it's subtle.  Today, it was the former.

As I approached the blueberry bush with my bowl, I saw something bundled at the base of the tree.  And there was a dead wood thrush.  On the surface, it doesn't have any great symbolism; there are cats that prowl the neighborhood and the blueberry bush is a powerful draw to the local birds.  When you combine cats and birds, you can guess the end result.

But, having just asked for a sign and having just pulled the Death Card, I knew the meaning.  I looked up the symbolism of the wood thrush for confirmation and further illumination.  According to the SunSigns website, the wood thrush is a "symbol of solid, healthy relationships.  It happily appears in our lives to signify that we are engaging in a long-term relationship that will never break down at any cost."

Without going into too much detail, because they're not really important to this conversation, I recently had a falling out with a friend of over 15 years.  I've actually known this person closer to 20. I was shaken by our conflict.  The interaction hurt me.  I was sad by the way things were handled and how things were left.  But... I also think it's important to surround yourself with positive people, who recognize and appreciate you for who you are.  And if our friendship was not good enough to agree to disagree, then perhaps it is best that it ended.

This morning I pulled a card.  This morning I asked for a sign.  And the message was received.