The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for March 3, 2017
Active Influence: Rind/Page of Swords
Rune: Nauthiz/Need
Hidden Influence: Fjolvar/Seven of Coins

Need forces you to re-evaluate the practical aspects of your life. What do you need that your current way of living does not fulfill? Are your wants fulfilled, but your needs go unmet? That’s no more healthy than indulging in desserts at every meal and skipping the main course. You must take care of your authentic needs in order to live a full and meaningful life. Sigyn (present in Nauthiz) reminds you that self-care is not negotiable.

Objectively consider how you live, and how you make your living; you will find discover new possibilities that can turn into real opportunities.

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for March 1, 2017
Active Influence: Hyndla/The Hermit
Rune: Fyruedal/Inspiration
Hidden Influence: Aurboda/Page of Wands

You want—and need—to be alone today to go within and sort things out for yourself. You have threads to untangle, and the only way to do that is to take the time to be quiet and look at the threads. Work out what you can today, and undo, or at least start to untangle, the knots. The energy you release will carry you into the day with a refreshed outlook.

This week’s new moon energy combines with Fyruedal to inspire you with new ideas and possibilities you could not have imagined previously. Aurboda brings the energy and enthusiasm to make a good start on the new work, as well as helping you locate the tools and resources you need to get going.

The “Happy Isles” Of Horace
~ Eugene Field

Oh, come with me to the Happy Isles
In the golden haze off yonder,
Where the song of the sun-kissed breeze beguiles,
And the ocean loves to wander.

Fragrant the vines that mantle those hills,
Proudly the fig rejoices;
Merrily dance the virgin rills,
Blending their myriad voices.

Our herds shall fear no evil there,
But peacefully feed and rest them;
Neither shall serpent nor prowling bear
Ever come there to molest them.

Neither shall Eurus, wanton bold,
Nor feverish drouth distress us,
But he that compasseth heat and cold
Shall temper them both to bless us.

There no vandal foot has trod,
And the pirate hosts that wander
Shall never profane the sacred sod
Of those beautiful Isles out yonder.

Never a spell shall blight our vines,
Nor Sirius blaze above us,
But you and I shall drink our wines
And sing to the loved that love us.

So come with me where Fortune smiles
And the gods invite devotion,–
Oh, come with me to the Happy Isles
In the haze of that far-off ocean!

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for February 28, 2017
Active Influence: Hymir & Hrod/Five of Swords
Rune: Raido/Journey (reversed)
Hidden Influence: Mundilfari/Six of Wands

Your usual methods of work and means of progress may be blocked today. Clarity of thinking about the problem, coupled with creative inspiration, steer you in a new direction towards your goal. Ask for help or advice if you need to, and have the courage to reach out and try something new—you may find that it’s more workable and comfortable than that thing you’ve always done.

What Kind of Times Are These
~ Adrienne Rich

Note: This poem was written in 1995. Literature is timeless; how I wish this were not still relevant.

There’s a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill
and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows
near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted
who disappeared into those shadows.

I’ve walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don’t be fooled
this isn’t a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,
our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,
its own ways of making people disappear.

I won’t tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won’t tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it’s necessary
to talk about trees.