CARDS FOR WEEK 7:

Oracle: The Chipmunk + Laurel: Success

Shadow Card: The Hierophant

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I bought a crystal and brass bell from a stranger who said her sister bought it in the 1970s. I’ve had my eye out for a bell like this for quite a while.

A little lavender/clove/candle magic going on here, to accompany a daily tarot pull, to stir the poetic muse.

A couple of years ago now I filled this tin with strips of brown paper. Whenever a little fragment of a poem shines through the ether, I write it on a strip of paper and put it in a blessed jar. I think I’ve added more in the last few weeks than I did in the previous year combined, and I want to keep going… so, a little blessing ritual here to keep the spirit flowing.

I have ideas for how I might use the jar and its contents when it’s full. Some writing, some art, some divination. But it’s a pretty big jar, so it’ll take a while yet.

The bloom has come. There are flowers everywhere – wild roses, lilacs, cherry and apple blossoms, Mayday trees.

And – just in time for the flowers – I finally bit the bullet and replaced my very old, tired phone. There is a definite improvement in camera quality that I’ve been appreciating.

I’ve continued my deeper dig into astrology. I’ve been feeling a pull to level up my core skills across the board… revisiting the first tools and systems that called to me, now that I have a clearer idea of what I’m doing and why. It’s been a real joy.

I liked The Taurus Witch and Witches Among Us so much that I’ve been eagerly seeking out more from Ivo Dominguez Jr. and Thorn Mooney. I’ve been working my way through the audio version of The Four Elements of the Wise, which nudged me to revisit and reconsecrate my Four Instruments.

That’s my chalice up there; I found it last year in the “candleholders” section of the thrift store, and I love it. I could go into all four of my instruments and their stories here, but I think that’s a post in itself.

It’s the week before my birthday and I’m in reflective mode. That partly took the form of looking up when my first Saturn Return was – the time you become a “real” adult, in some astrological traditions.

Mine was in 2019. I won’t recount all my personal reflections, but I’ve done some, and made this to honour that time. The photo is from that year, which was a big one.

This week has felt very full, in a good way. That’s becoming a pattern… life is feeling richer with increased mindfulness. I’ve been out and about a lot.

Murals have been catching on in Edmonton. It’s been nice seeing so many pop up over the last few years; this one was new to me.

This is new too. I braved the big mall on the weekend and spotted this new flower shop right when I walked in… I was trying NOT to spend a lot on this trip, so I avoided temptation by not going in, but I’m intrigued.

In terms of cottage witchery I’ve been eyeing up the kitchen and making some overdue changes, including starting to set up a tea library on the counter – more on that project soon, probably. I’ve been seeking more calm and more clarity lately, so I’m drinking a lot of this lavender, chamomile, and rosemary combo. Sometimes mixed with jasmine green tea if I want a gentle energy boost.

The standard weekly house maintenance also tends to come more easily and feel more magical at this time of year. Anyone who looks at my very maximalist house probably wonders how long it takes me to do all the dusting, but dusting is an opportunity to rearrange all the trinkets and reconnect with them! In the right mood, I actually really like doing it.

I adjusted my altar to celebrate the blooming season. More fresh flowers will be added as I collect them! I put out my little book of fairy bookmarks that I had as a small child, and it always makes me happy to see them.

See how the new phone can record a candle flame and not just show it as a glare?! The house and everything else looks a lot more vibrant now, especially since I keep the light so low in here. I took this one and laughed because it looks exactly like a collage I’d make… which is the goal.

My flower drying/offering plate is filling up fast. I bought a fuchsia plant in a hanging basket and I’m hoping it will make it… it’s a little early/chilly to have it outside overnight, so it’s inside for now, and I’m collecting spent blooms. Picked some dandelions on my walk back from the mall too, and picked up a wild rose that fell off the stem.

Spent blooms, dropped flowers and dandelions… all often-unloved things, but I think they’re beautiful in their imperfection and worthy of honour. I like a full, picture-perfect basket of fresh cut flowers as much as anyone, but there’s a wabi sabi quality about collections like this that I also really like.

Speaking of which, with the new camera, I also see my own face more clearly – complete with the shadows, scars, and first hints of wrinkling. When I was younger the thought of developing any of those things filled me with a sense of scarcity and urgency and anxiety about the whole mortality thing, but now that I’m actually here… I really like it.

I’m much, much happier now than I was then, and that is the fruit of embracing scars and shadows.

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TAROT FOR WEEK 7 (May 4-11):

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THEME: 10 OF CUPS

Happiness. Fulfillment. Harmony.

CHALLENGE: QUEEN OF WANDS

[read reversed]

Insecurity. Envy. Fear of failure.

BLESSINGS: JUSTICE

Clarity. Truth. Accountability.

TEND: 8 OF PENTACLES

Diligence. High standards. Mastery.

RELEASE: THE WORLD

[read reversed]

Emptiness. No closure. Incompletion.

FOCUS: JUDGEMENT

Reflection. Reckoning. Awakening.

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