April 21, 2017: I'm back, and with a new focus

 

So here I am, returning from the void of moving.  I am mostly unpacked, the dust is settling, and I am crawling out of the Dark Night of the Soul that is the result of the complete chaos and upheaval of a physical world move.  

Spring is in the air (although Winter clings stubbornly, still bringing chill in the air), and the early and brave flowers are in bloom.  My head is finally learning, and I am being drawn back into the Work.  

The final stage of the Great Work is called Coagulation.  Coagulations occurs when all of the other stages have been experienced, digested and understood (and that might take more than one trip through a particular stage).  According to a Llewellyn newsletter article on the Great Work, not many Seekers reach this final level of complete integration.  Have I successfully completed Coagulation?  I don’t know.  But I think it is time to move on and step away from the Great Work, at least for now.  I’m sure that when it is needed, I will be drawn back once again.  

Because I am moving on to a new focus, I am changing the way I work with the Dreams of Gaia Tarot.  I will now shuffle all cards together.  I will attempt to draw cards for Esbats and Sabbats, and ion other days as well.  I will be keeping my Significator for this deck, the Faith card, number XXIV.

And what will I be doing next?  I was writing the monthly submission for my column, Tarot Talk, in PaganPages, working on The Hierophant, and got snagged down the rabbit hole of Pathworking.  I’ve done this before but I believe I did not make it through all 22 of the Paths.  The time has come to begin again.  

In honor of this new endeavor, I threw a Dreams of Gaia card and got the Four of Air reversed.  What a perfect description of the state of my mind these past months!  The keywords for this card are structure, routine, order, patterns, discipline, organization, understanding, and productivity.  And I have had none of these, due to my move.  This card in an upright position explains the need for order and structure, especially if there are tasks to be accomplished (and when are there ever **not** tasks to be accomplished?) and the need for routine, ritual and consistency if we want to be productive.  

The Four of Air in a reversed position is a bit of a warning for me; it tells me that setting this intention today is all well and good, but if I don’t reestablish my routines and rituals, all will be for naught.  I need to impose the same work ethic on this endeavor that I imposed on the move (as I am almost completely unpacked).  I also need to continue my purge of clutter, getting rid of the habits or belongings that might distract me from this next important step.  

It feels good to be back!!

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