Transparent Oracle Sunday!  As always, I shuffled after asking the question “What do I need to know?”  I threw the following three cards:

38, Guide: Owl (North).   North is the direction of Earth, and thus of the physical or physically formed or manifested world, and of nurturing, health, finances and security, and the wisdom associated with living simply, being well-grounded, and being in touch with our physical body.  Owl is a night hunter, and thus is very good at perceiving things, even in the dark.  Because Owl can fly silently, he is also associated with silence; dark silence can be uncomfortable for some.  Owl tends to be solitary, but this nature allows Owl to be objective and detached, and to gain much wisdom from life experiences. 

33, Element: Earth (North).  Earth represents stable, material, practical energies that are slow to change; its dignities are cold/binds and dry/shapes.  Earth is the element of form and substance; it is connected to physical health, to material world security (and even wealth), and to our physical bodies and physical senses, and the pleasures and pains they bring.  Earth represents the fertile, nurturing and serene side of Nature, and it represents the tangible end result of our labors.

62, Dream (Within).  Within is the direction of the Self, and thus the cards associated with this direction deal with the ways our Self connects to the world and perceives the world, and the Self.  This direction is mostly abstract, and yet is our bridge to the Universe around us.  Dream is the language of the unconscious mind; our unconscious mind is constantly absorbing and interpreting information, and since Dream has no physical world limits, it can interpret that information without being bound by any limits. Thus we can see the past and the future, and talk to those who are not now (or maybe never were) of the physical world.

Then, I built my mandala.  Earth is very clearly the center of this one, and both Owl and Dream are circled around Earth.  Dream’s hands seem to be supporting the sides of the Earth triangle, or maybe holding the sides steady.  The closed eyes of Dream are superimposed onto the open eyes of Owl, and the swirls of Dream’s subconscious seem to be emanating from Owl’s crown chakra. 

Both the Owl and Dream can be considered as entities that fly or that are not subject to physical gravity; it is interesting that they are circling around the symbol for the element of Earth, the heaviest, most grounded element.  Both the Owl and Dream are solitary symbols, as well.  They represent concepts that are inner in nature, even though Owl is of the direction of North, and corresponds to the most physical world element, Earth.  To me, this mandala is showing me both boundaries and limits (the physical world), as well as freedom without limits (the ability to overcome gravity, and to understand the language of the unconscious mind.  Is this an either/or choice?  I think not.

I’ve actually lost another pound, despite company and the eating and drinking that company brings.  That brings me to 11 pounds!  I’ve been biking and walking like crazy, which is probably helping me to keep my weight moving in the right direction.

I spent yesterday and some of today in my beloved Cape May garden, tweaking and trimming, digging and transplanting.  The combination of sunny and hot days, laced with occasional thunderstorms with strong downpours, have brought me lush growth this year.  My flowers may dry under the blazing sun and oppressive heat, but for a brief while they are spectacular!

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