Draw May 3, 2016: Bestla/Ten of Coins; Cweorth; Gunnlod/Two of Cups

Draw May 3, 2016: Bestla/Ten of Coins; Cweorth; Gunnlod/Two of Cups.

Nature burns her forests and fields when they become overgrown. The land is renewed, and life again grows lush and luxuriant.

Today, consider what in your life is overgrown. Cweorth is the rune of the funeral  pyre, and consumes all it is given, reducing it to ash. Cweorth reinforces the readings of the last two days—you must give up something in order to move on. You cannot remain where you are, and you cannot move forward under the weight of  what you are carrying. Choose, and consign it to the flames. Remember, too, that fire is a wild energy, and if unwatched, will leap forward and burn everything in its path. Watch the fire with care, and be prepared for some collateral damage.

Gunnlod as the Hidden Influence suggests emotional connection, and at the same time cautions against trickery. (You can read Elizabeth Vongvisith’s wonderful telling of Gunnlod’s tale here.) You need to be honest about your motives, and be aware that whoever you are dealing with may not have told you their entire story. Proceed with eyes wide open, and if you must agree to an unsatisfactory bargain, do so knowingly and accepting of the consequences.

Bestla offers encouragement and a reminder that all things are possible. Don’t get too hung up on probability just now; today, it’s all  about the possibility. The tree is heavy with coins bearing the Othala rune, reminding you that the wisdom, work, and wealth (of all kinds) of your ancestors is a solid foundation for you to do your own work. The wooden throne bears the runes Nauthiz,  Perthro, and Berkana; Bestla tells you to figure out what you truly need, and then take the chance to achieve that goal through right action and growth.

Let go of what no longer matters, and focus on the way forward.

STANDING

~ Gunilla Norris

This morning as I put my feet on the floor
Let me remember how many thousands of years
it took for this act to be possible–
The slow and painstaking development
so that a human creature could rise,
could stand on two feet, and then walk.

From the very beginning, from the very first explosion
Your precise and patient love has been creating us.

The wonder is that now my hands are free
even as I walk or run or stand or dance.

The wonder is that now that I am upright,
my eyes can gaze at the ground,
along the ground, and beyond to the horizon.

I know You have made me
and all creatures for Freedom…
an ever-increasing, evolving freedom.
I am filled with awe by this.
It requires that we face the unknown,
that we rise to it.
You are still exploding in us,
and I am scared.
My trust is so puny.

But You are near. You are here
even as you have been from the very first.
You are the vast time and space
in which life is happening. You are Life itself
providing us with centuries to become
Your conscious image.

With wonder at what You have entrusted to us,
help me to know that You are both
the ground and the being
apart from which there is nothing.
Help me to stand up
in Your Freedom.

Welcome to my new blog! I still have some tidying up to  do with the theme, so bear with me while I and my fabulous designer, Chris Lowrance, put in the finishing touches.

Why “the Iron Wood”? That’s the realm of Angrboda, who came into my life early last year and has been a constant presence. Working with Her often involves journeying through Her lands, and thus, “Walking in the Iron Wood”.

I’ve moved over a bit of content from my prior blog, Tarot Pathways—posts that I feel are relevant to this part of my journey. I wrote there for seven years,  and there’s so much content that moving it all was impractical. Tarot Pathways will  remain online, but will no longer be updated. My new posts, draws, musings, and reviews will be here now.

Welcome to the Iron Wood!

Draw May 2, 2016: Fenja & Menja/Two of Coins; Algiz; Jormundgand/The World

Draw May 2, 2016: Fenja & Menja/Two of Coins; Algiz; Jormundgand/The World.

Welcome to Monday! All kinds of things are going on, most of which you have no control over. So how do you deal with this? Good boundaries (Jormundgand), strong protection (Algiz), and focusing on what you can do.

Which, with Fenja & Menja as the Active Influence, means do your work. Whatever that is—your day job, taking care of your family, taking care of your house, getting the oil changed on your car—today is the day to  buckle down and do it. This is not the day to plot and plan, or to analyze and ponder. Today is the day to make your to do list, and then work through it.

One item at a time, one task at a time, do your work. Focus on doing what you can do and keeping yourself out of harm’s way. The Universe is Doing Things, and you’ll find out what’s going on when you need to know.

The Rival
~Sylvia Plath

If the moon smiled, she would resemble you.
You leave the same impression
Of something beautiful, but annihilating.
Both of you are great light borrowers.
Her O-mouth grieves at the world; yours is unaffected,

And your first gift is making stone out of everything.
I wake to a mausoleum; you are here,
Ticking your fingers on the marble table, looking for cigarettes,
Spiteful as a woman, but not so nervous,
And dying to say something unanswerable.

The moon, too, abuses her subjects,
But in the daytime she is ridiculous.
Your dissatisfactions, on the other hand,
Arrive through the mailslot with loving regularity,
White and blank, expansive as carbon monoxide.

No day is safe from news of you,
Walking about in Africa maybe, but thinking of me.