Once again, the bibliomancy for today’s Poem for Hela syncs up perfectly with the Daily Draw.

Poem 1, from Six Poems
~Sulpicia
Edited by Anne Mahoney

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for February 18, 2017
Active Influence: Gunnlod/Two of Cups
Rune: Chalc/Chalice (reversed)
Hidden Influence: Sinmora/Queen of Wands

If someone is offering you a prize, verify that the prize is as promised, and that they can actually give it. If you are going to do the work, be sure the reward is actually available. Sinmora gifts you with a great deal of creative energy, so make sure you are investing it in projects that will pay off for you instead of giving away your gifts for the benefit of another. Know your worth, and insist on being compensated appropriately. As my mother used to tell me, “You will sell out. Sell well.”

Beware of pretty promises and passionate oaths—they are worth only the breath it takes to speak them. This applies to your own promises as well—don’t make an offer you know you can’t fulfill. That never works out well for anyone.

Invisible Work
~ Alison Luterman

Because no one could ever praise me enough,

because I don’t mean these poems only

but the unseen

unbelievable effort it takes to live

the life that goes on between them,

I think all the time about invisible work.

About the young mother on Welfare

I interviewed years ago,

who said, “It’s hard.

You bring him to the park,

run rings around yourself keeping him safe,

cut hot dogs into bite-sized pieces fro dinner,

and there’s no one

to say what a good job you’re doing,

how you were patient and loving

for the thousandth time even though you had a headache.”

And I, who am used to feeling sorry for myself

because I am lonely,

when all the while,

as the Chippewa poem says, I am being carried

by great winds across the sky,

thought of the invisible work that stitches up the world day and night,

the slow, unglamorous work of healing,

the way worms in the garden

tunnel ceaselessly so the earth can breathe

and bees ransack this world into being,

while owls and poets stalk shadows,

our loneliest labors under the moon.

There are mothers

for everything, and the sea

is a mother too,

whispering and whispering to us

long after we have stopped listening.

I stopped and let myself lean

a moment, against the blue

shoulder of the air. The work

of my heart

is the work of the world’s heart.

There is no other art.

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for February 17, 2017
Active Influence: Olvalde & Sons/Eight of Coins
Rune: Kenaz/Torch
Hidden Influence: The Volva/Four of Swords

What’s done is done. Leave the past in the past. New opportunities are right here, right now. Diligent study and careful practice will yield positive results and pleasant surprises. Do not be dismayed by the prospect of doing the work; be excited about the opportunity to learn new knowledge and acquire new skills to move forward along a brighter path.

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for February 16, 2017
Active Influence: Fafnir/Four of Coins
Rune: Wunjo/Joy
Hidden Influence: Hrungnir/Seven of Wands

Arguments abound, your stress level is rising, and that’s leading to some unhealthy and unproductive behaviors. Do your best to disengage from others’ negative energies and restore your perspective. Focus on what is good and what is working in your life. Even if you are dealing with a lot of difficulties and problems and annoying people, there are still good parts to each day. Use those energies to bolster your spirits and see if you can end the day better than it began.