Monthly Archives: May 2017

Tarotcast

Tarotcast for the Week of May 28, 2017

embroidery

I grew up in the seventies when crafting was a big thing. Every summer we would pick a craft – macramé, leather work, making candles, making glasses out of wine bottles, or making pictures with things from the sea. My Mom’s big thing was ceramics and my Dad’s was making things out of leather. My grandmother did needle work but she gravitated more towards knitting. And as a kid I tried everything, but nothing really stuck until I got my first embroidery kit of a terrier’s face with one thread color and one stitch. I liked that embroidery added a silky texture and dimension to a picture. But what really amazed me was that something I used to fix the holes in my pants had the potential to become art.

Crafting in general has now had a resurgence with the DIY movement. And even though embroidery has had an high-art face since the seventies, it is now being recognized by museums and collectors as fine art instead of just arts and crafts. The images above and below represent artists of two generations, four countries and both sexes that use embroidery with photos in their art work. Maria Ikonomopoulou from the Netherlands, Julie Cockburn from the UK, Laura Mckellar from Australia, and Jose Romussi from Chile.

P.S. Remember, signs with * it’s a big week for you.

Aries – Ace of Pentacles – The Ace of Pentacles continues to call you to action. As with all Aces, this marks a new beginnings. This week this card is challenging you to begin manifesting something new into your life. This can be as simple as spending time in your garden planting flowers, herbs or veggies, or making something in your workshop.

Taurus – Seven of Pentacles – This week the Seven of Pentacles advises you to dig in and get some work done. However, the challenge is all work and no play makes Jack/Jill not happy. Spend this week honing your skill at focusing on what you are doing: when at work – work, and when at home – play.
Continue reading Tarotcast for the Week of May 28, 2017 →

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Tarotcast for week of May 21, 2017

San FRancisco Twins

Happy Birthday month Gemini!

I was lucky enough to see the San Francisco Twins many times when I lived there in the 80s and 90’s. Marian and Vivian Brown where identical twins born in Kalamazoo Michigan. They moved to San Francisco in the 70’s to get away from the hot summers and cold winters. They were icons in the San Francisco scene.

The first time I saw them was when I was walking around the Nob Hill area. I looked across the street and caught a glimpse of two ladies identically clad arm and arm walking down the street. Each time I saw them they were always dressed to the nines with big smiles on their faces, which ended up spreading to mine. That love of life and flair was one of the reason I moved to San Francisco. Not only the scenery had character but so did the people. This is a theme with Gemini to show your unique self.   Funny that uniqueness can be more evident where there are two of them.

P.S. Remember, signs with * it’s a big week for you.

Aries – Nine of Pentacles – The last couple of weeks you have been in your mind. This week shifts you to action. The Nine of Pentacles advises you to find a quiet nook and work. The challenge with this card is to find contentment in what you are doing. If you really can’t find satisfaction, then this is a hint that you are not doing something right, so you can change it.

Taurus – Six of Wands – Last week, The Lovers and Six of Pentacles’ lessons were about collaboration and the give and take of relationships. This week you got another six so the theme of cause and effect continues. The challenge this week is for every act of kindness you receive you should give one in return. Or even better start the good vibe trend yourself.
Continue reading Tarotcast for week of May 21, 2017 →

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Tarotcast for week of May 14, 2017

Happy Birthday Taurus! Taurus is generally represented as the most stable and the most stubborn of the astrological signs. However, I am friends with them because they enjoy being silly. A prime example of a silly Taurus is Edward Lear, born May 12, 1812. Edward, was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author, and poet. He is best remembered for his nonsense poem Owl and The Pussycat. He also popularized limericks, was the first major bird artist to draw from living birds instead of just their preserved skins, and he was a prolific landscape artist. Also, he was known to introduce himself as “Mr Abebika kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Ableborinto phashyph” or “Chakonoton the Cozovex Dossi Fossi Sini Tomentilla Coronilla Polentilla Battledore & Shuttlecock Derry down Derry Dumps” which he based on a game from Aldiborontiphoskyphorniostikos.

The nonsense world has no comprehensive system of logic, although it implies that there is a mysterious one just beyond our grasp. Even though the nonsense world has strange creatures and fantasy destinations, it does not follow the fantasy moral norms of good versus evil or happily ever after. And even though it makes us think the way riddles do, it has no answers, or like jokes it can make us laugh but there is no punch line. This genre is most easily recognizable by using various techniques like misuse of grammar or faulty cause and effect to balance meaning and lack of meaning. So, I have begun reading the news and tweets coming out of the White House as nonsense literature. It has improved my mood, though not my sense of reality.

P.S. Remember, signs with * it’s a big week for you.

Aries – Nine of Swords – More mind “fullness” this week with the Nine of Swords. This card is about worries. With all the thinking you have been doing during the past three weeks, it’s no wonder your brain is over-worked! Your challenge from the Nine of Swords is to get Zen with your thoughts. Your brain needs the rest. Find solutions for the things you can and let the rest go.

*Taurus – Six of Pentacles and The Lovers – Finally, the big card for your birthday month and the coming year – The Lovers, and with it the Six of Pentacles. The Lovers’ lessons are around collaboration and the give and take of relationships. And to reiterate that you got the Six of Pentacles, whose lesson is that what you give out, you receive back in threefold. The advice for this coming year is to really look at the relationships you want in your life and enhance the positive you are giving to them, because you will get it back threefold. The only challenge is that negative energy works that way too. So, be aware that negative in is three times negative out.
Continue reading Tarotcast for week of May 14, 2017 →

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Tarotcast for week of May 7, 2017

There are many hidden heroes in our history and lives. Nurses are one of them. Nurses are the backbone, heart and hands of medical institutions.

Mary Mahoney is one of the heroes hidden in history. She was born May 7, 1845, and in 1879 became the first African American to graduate from nursing. She was one of the first African American nurses accepted into the national nursing association in 1896; however, by the early 1900’s they had stopped admitting minorities. So Mary co-founded National Association of Colored Graduated Nurses, which accepted all nurses no matter skin tone into their ranks. She believed that in order to challenge discrimination against minorities one must be the best in their field. Mary became so respected in the white community that she had received private-duty nursing requests from patients all along the eastern coast. She not only raised awareness that healing can be given and received regardless of skin color, but she exalted the position of nurses in general.

I find that most nurses are amazingly caring people, in spite of having one of the hardest jobs. Nurses see just as many patients as doctors and see them more often while the patient is in care, are more hands-on than doctors, and bring daily comfort. One personal example: I was crying in a hallway after a doctor had just informed me that I might have ovarian cancer and I would have to wait days to get an ultrasound. The nurse hugged me, snuck me into her office and got me an ultrasound appointment that day. Seeing my anxiety she went the extra mile for me. I never saw again but she still will always have my gratitude.

May 12th is International Nursing Day. Acknowledge a nurse this week.

P.S. Remember, signs with * it’s a big week for you.

Aries – King of Swords – This week, the focus is still your mind. The past two weeks have been about changing your perspective/mind. This week the King of Swords advises that it is time to make decisions. The challenge with this card is now that you are more certain of your goals, you have to be vigilant about being too bossy to obtain them. Remember, you do know a lot – but you can always learn more.

Taurus – Six of Wands – There will be powerful insights, accomplishments, and good news this week. The Six of Wands challenges you to acknowledge your hard work. Just take a second and look at all you have accomplished so far. Pretty impressive, right? That contemplation should give you enough energy to continue for the next 4 months. Keep it up.
Continue reading Tarotcast for week of May 7, 2017 →