December Affirmation: I celebrate the union of the Sacred Feminine
and Sacred Masculine, sharing this Love and Light with the world.

We continue our journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot as we arrive at the Lovers. Though often assumed to be referring to physical romantic relationships, this card is truly about an inner union. As we have seen, each of us has feminine and masculine energy. It is critically important for these energies to work together in balance and harmony, creating the inner marriage. Trust, loyalty and compassion blossom from this inner union. In fact, this union is necessary for the highest and best physical relationships. The inner union must come first before it can manifest on the third dimensional plane.

So how do we get in touch with these energies and bring them into balance? One possible way is a visualization that I have used for many years. We all have probably heard of the right and left brain. The left brain is your intellectual, analytical center represented by the masculine. The right brain is your center for intuitive awareness and creativity represented by the feminine energy. But what many of us forget is that the nerves cross at the center of your neck (the medulla oblongata). Therefore, the masculine left brain controls the right side of the body and the energies of the right brain manifest on the left side.

Take a moment now to close your eyes and breathe deeply. Standing firmly on your feet, visualize a string, like a plumb line, going from the top of your head to your toes. Make any adjustments to your stance so you feel very firm and centered. Now lean to your right, letting your weight fall primarily on your right leg and foot. Be aware of any stress points and listen for any messages from this side of your body. Remember this is your masculine energy flowing through your right side. What does it need to tell you?

Now shift your weight back to center and then to the left. Feel your feminine energy flowing down your left leg and become aware of any stress points. What does your feminine energy need to tell you? Now bring your body back to center, take another deep breath and open your eyes.

This exercise enables you to connect with both sides of your being and allows you to experience what it feels like to be centered in those energies. Balance and harmony are exquisitely important in our chaotic world. Focusing on your inner union creates the peace and serenity that allows you to step forward into turmoil, even in the midst of the holiday rush, and not be overwhelmed. Remember that inner union is a possible anecdote to outer chaos and turmoil and find time, even a few moments, to connect with that union within. It’s there, waiting for you. And it brings us hope in the midst of any despair, and joy in the midst of any sadness.

One of my favorite Christmas carols has a powerful backstory. The words to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” were written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the Civil War. His wife had recently died and his son was recovering from a severe war wound. In the midst of his grief and concern, he penned these words which still speak to us today.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!…

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

Many blessings of Light and Love for the Holiday season and the New Year!

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November Affirmation: In the midst of turmoil and chaos I create peace and build up the energy of our Mother Earth.

We continue our journey of the soul with an exploration of the Sacred Masculine energy found in the major arcana of the Emperor and what is traditionally called the Hierophant or the Pope. Like the Sacred Feminine, these archetypes offer us two different perspectives of the masculine energy, and actually bring us a paradox. The Emperor energy creates and builds on the physical plane and we each carry this creative force within us, no matter our body type. However, this energy can become divorced from the Sacred Feminine of Mother Earth and then it seeks to dominate and control. The Emperor can be a force for positive good only when this energy works cooperatively with the nurturing compassion of the Empress.

The Inner Child cards highlight what can happen when the Emperor ignores the energy of the feminine. Here we have the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. As the Emperor builds and creates with the goal of attaining earthly power, he represents the power of the material world and the resources accumulated from the four corners of the globe. When the Emperor becomes greedy, unaware of his surroundings, blind to the folly of his self-centered ways, he becomes a dangerously foolish representation of humanity. This could be any of us! The Emperor’s New Clothes teaches us how foolish it is to totally focus on our material perceptions. The Emperor is being swindled by tailors who flatter his ego and convince him that his new clothes are absolutely elegant and without comparison. But they don’t exist! It falls to the innocence of a child to wake up the people to the reality that the Emperor is parading around naked! When the Emperor is aligned with the Empress, there is the potential for grounded cosmic power and spirituality of the highest order, for the polar opposites of male and female become harmonized and work in cooperation. Note that the Empress precedes the Emperor in this soul journey. In many early civilizations, kingship depended on the choices of women. Marriage with the earthly representation of the Goddess, in the form of a queen, was essential to the position of kingship. We move toward the future from the wisdom we have gained from building on the past. The Empress is the wisdom of life; the Emperor is the application of that wisdom in the attempt to create a better world.

Our teacher in this process is symbolized by the Hierophant or in more traditional tarot decks, the Pope. This major arcana is the masculine reflection of the High Priestess and in the Inner Child Cards is known as the Wizard. We find this energy represented by Merlin who taught the boy Arthur how to be a great and compassionate king. Once again, we have the opportunity to drink from the well of our own inner wisdom and be lead by this teaching. Take this opportunity to connect with the deep well within you and know that this wisdom is always there to guide and protect you. You are not alone. Thanks be to God the Father.

Gentle and merciful Father, there are many times that we focus on the outside when the solution to the challenges in our lives lies within. Out attitudes, our thoughts, our inner feelings all create the reality that surrounds us. Lead us within, O God, and cleanse the error of our minds and hearts. Focus our attention on your eternal Truth and those things that endure. Remove our foolish obsession with the material and the physical, for we know that ultimately they will both pass away. Teach us that we truly are spirit inhabiting a physical form, not a material body with an inner spirit. Reorder our priorities so that we may become clean vessels for your precious Spirit.  So it is.

October Affirmation: I open to the power and love of the Sacred Feminine within me.

We continue our soul’s journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot with an exploration of the energy of the Sacred Feminine. One of the interesting characteristics of the Major Arcana is the polarities of the masculine and feminine energies that are manifested not only between these energies but within them. There are two separate but related arcana for each of these polarities. We will dive into the masculine next month, but now we have the invitation to open our hearts to the Divine Feminine within us.

In the traditional tarot, the two archetypes for the feminine energy are the High Priestess and the Empress. If we look to Christian sources, we see Mary Magdalene and Mother Mary, both named Mary but very different energies. Mother Mary is symbolized by a pink rose; Mary Magdalene by a red rose. Mother Mary is the traditional energy of Quan Yin; the energy of receiving and accepting, embracing and compassion. This is the womb where we all begin our journey into physical existence. This energy has often been characterized as passive but as anyone who has given birth will tell you, there is nothing passive about the gestation and birthing process! This is a gentle strength and power. In the Inner Child cards, the Empress becomes Mother Goose laying the golden egg.

The power of the High Priestess is much more assertive. She is a leader and a teacher, as manifested by Mary Magdalene and in the Inner Child Cards as the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. This feminine energy is out in the world creating change, teaching her wisdom and supporting those in need. So we have a balance of inner and outer within the feminine, even though the feminine has often been restricted to the passive, receptive inner world. Each of us has this balanced potential within us just as each of us carries both masculine and feminine energy. We will journey on to the masculine next month. For now, take a moment of reflect on how you interact with your inner feminine. How do you receive her wisdom and manifest it outwardly into the world?

Invocation of the Cosmic Mother

O Great Mother, Divine Feminine,
Birther of the cosmos, lover unto Spirit,
Creatrix of all matter and queen of all worlds
And those without; we call you to us in this hour.
We are your children; hear our call.
We are the daughters and sons of your divine union,
The flesh of your passion for life.
You, who lay with Spirit, our Father,
In the beginning, and brought us forth
From the blessed union of Spirit and Matter;
We are your children, the sons and daughters
Of your flesh and heart, and we remember your touch
And the fragrance of your essence, and we long for you.
Come to our heart and gift us the remembering.
Come to our minds and open our genius.
Enlighten us with your presence.
Draw back the veils that we might see,
And hearken the doors to open,
That beauty and ecstasy may live
In our homes and hearts more fully.
This is our hour of greatest need.
We call you, through fire and water;
Through earth and wind;
Through all that bears your name.
We call your lineages and all your names.
Come unto us. Come into us. So be it.

~~~ Judi Sion

September Affirmation: I celebrate the magic of the Universe and I manifest the magic that is within me.

As we continue our journey of the soul through the Major Arcana, our next stop is traditionally called the Magician. In the Inner Child cards this card brings us the energy of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. Here we encounter the power of manifestation that lies within each of us. The story of Aladdin reminds us that our words and even our thoughts can create the reality that surrounds us in both positive and negative ways.

Take a moment now to go within your sacred heart space and imagine that you are Aladdin holding a magic lamp. Rubbing the lamp brings forth a genie that is ready to grant you three wishes. What would you wish for if you knew beyond a doubt that these wishes would come true? The magic lamp is a symbol of the illumined mind that is overlighted by a genie, representing the powers of the spiritual world and the “genius” potential in the child of every one of us. The word genius comes from Latin and literally means “to be inhabited by a genie.” Note that at this very early stage of the soul’s journey the inspiration and power of the “genie” is external, coming from outside of us. At this stage our soul has yet to discover the magician who dwells within us.

The words we speak, the thoughts we project to the world, are our magic wands. They are more powerful than we realize. As an innocent child, our soul begins to taste this power and learn the lessons of the world, sometimes the hard way. Like learning that a hot stove can burn, we discover that harsh words can hurt and negative thoughts will manifest as trouble in our lives and the world. When we focus on what we most desire for ourselves and our loved ones, we begin to understand the magic within us. “Open Seseme!” We are the magician!

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought
will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path
we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path,
we must think over and over the kind of thoughts
we wish to dominate our lives.”
~~~~~ Henry David Thoreau

Holy Shikinah, your pillar of fire turns our darkness into the brightness of day and leads us out of the wilderness, even though we have no map to guide us. May we have such trust and faith in your empowering Presence that miracles become every day occurrences. Through the fire of your Spirit within us may we discover our own power to create and manifest what we desire. Teach us to use this power wisely for the healing and transformation of our despairing world. So it is.