Chartres Cathedral

Notre Dame de Chartres is the finest example of gothic cathedral architecture. 1194-1260 It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. 

Usually cathedrals took 25 to 50 years to build, and many had additions over the centuries. The towers of Chartress have tall taper spires. The south tower is the oldest. The north tower is slimmer, more complex and intricate. Portals of the west are elaborately decorated, have symmetry and clarity. The nave is 130 feet long, 53 feet wide, and 122 feet high. There are 175 glass panels from the Middle Ages dedicated to the Queen of Heaven. Mary is the multi foliate rose of the rose window. She sits enthroned in Majesty on the high altar. The skull of Saint Anne and the veil of Mary were given to Charlemagne by the Byzantine Empress Irene and are said to have been the greatest treasures of this cathedral. In the north tympanum, the magi are seen lying asleep under a cover. 

The Card of Love

Today, I have chosen the Ace of Hearts because we all need to experience the feeling of new love - love that is creative and inspiring! A love that is a muse, to love deities and a love that is on a new level, a deeper, richer and more vital love. And you need to give and receive unconditional love, that is love that is fully accepting, fully engaging, fully real and open, without criticism or judgment. If we want to receive love, we must be lovable; we must show we are worthy of long lasting, sincere and love that has sweetness and beauty, that is healing and motivating. A heady excitement can occur in an existing relationship providing there is a fresh response and a will to please. 

The Dream: A purple winged heart from a vase filled to the brim with the supreme magical power of love. Love takes form within the vessel and can be poured into the cupped hand of one that is open. Never a closed fist! in the centre of the winged heart is a smaller vibrant heart that is open and receptive. This heart nurtures and overflows with caring and happiness. Unconditional love is embedded within the soft velvet petals of a deliciously fragrant rose, as roses have always been a favourite of Cupid's messengers. The universal symbolism of the heart represents the human hearts role as a beating muscle that is vital to life. Like the beginning of a love affair, everything in this dream is enhanced by love's transcendant glow. 

My Soul has a Hat - A Poem

 MY SOUL HAS A HAT

I counted my years & realized that I have

Less time to live by, Than I have lived so far.

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure,

But when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures & internal regulations are discussed,

knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience To stand absurd people who,

despite their chronological age, have not grown up.

My time is too short: I want the essence, my spirit is in a hurry. 

An Indonesian Island - A Story

 

Nyall Watson's book 'Gifts of Unknown Things' is a favourite of mine, since it was published in 1977 to great acclaim. 

The book ends with a remarkable story from the island of Nus Tarian, which, at the time he visited, received very few travellers. The story describes his meeting with Tia, a young girl who had special powers, as many young girls have been known to have before their menarche. She was a loner, as many feared and misunderstood her. She saved a man from certain death, and when an elder of the village died in a fishing expedition, she brought him back to life. She was a remarkable dancer, lithe and subtle. She had clashed on several occasions with the Imam who was a friend of her father, but even her father could not control her gifts. The Imam wanted to send the girl from the village but her powerful father was too insistent she stay, however, after one particular confrontation, she fled and as she did so, the mosque caught fire. As harvest time arrived, there was a traditional celebration of the rice where nine aspects of a harvest rite were to take place. 

Mystics, Scholars and Poets! Ireland - A Visit

I bet you didn’t know that King Dagobert spent time in Ireland! Ireland was once known as “the land of mystics, scholars and poets” and County Mayo, on Ireland’s West coast, is highly charged with spiritual energies. It’s a wild, rugged and desolate landscape has attractions for the holiday visitor with coastal and countryside walking, mountain climbing, golfing and bird watching. The Atlantic coast is atmospheric, there is also sea, lake and river fishing for those who enjoy the great outdoors. It is an area rich in wonderful, historical sites, such as stone circles and cairns, round towers and monastic ruins. Throughout the summer there are many festivals of food, music, art and song. 

This area is steeped in Ireland’s famous connections to the spiritual world. For instance, this is a well documented event. On the evening of August 21, 1879, Margaret Beirne was

February Card Reading

From The Star Tarot - The Hierophant. The Inner Teacher/Spiritual Advisor. There are times in your life when you may feel lost, and disconnected, uncertain how to get back to your true self. This is the time to seek the wisdom of the Hierophant. He is the revealer of sacred information and he helps you to reconnect to your soul self. The Hierophant instructs you to listen. He symbolises the mediator between the spiritual world and the material world. He shows you the path how to live a spiritual life on Earth. The number is five – the number of spiritual self which struggles to learn how to express itself. The Hierophant is the Enlightened One who gives spiritual guidance. This is the bridge between the spirit and human form. He shines spiritual knowledge and divine love into your heart, awakening your soul purpose. The Hierophant  is your inner voice that inspires you to practice spiritual values in your everyday life. If you listen, you can learn the lessons. This card indicates a need or desire to discover the Divine being within. The Hierophant inspires you to walk your talk and practice your brand of spirituality with integrity and authenticity. You are encouraged to trust your intuition and to see the Divine in all things. You will channel cosmic knowledge, and blend and balance your inner self with your outer world, understanding how all things are connected. He gives you the courage and desire to look at your beliefs and values to see if they align with the Divine Plan. This will rebalance your life. Does drawing this card show you that you are ready to take on this role or that you still need further training?  Is your spirituality a true commitment? Use this time to re-evaluate where you have come and where you are going! You true destine path awaits - choices are required. By Cathy McClelland.

Get Your Oracle Cards Published

These are the key points of the Get Your Oracle Cards Published workshop :-

Sending your proposal to a publisher:  

If you have a name, a pen name, a website name, a Facebook name, an unregistered business name, etc. etc., I suggest you use one professional name only, and the best name is your real name as this is the only one you want on your royalty cheques. Put all your eggs in one basket under your real name where publishers and others can quickly find you! Publishers invest in their clients, and will research you! I heard of one case where a very good deck was turned down because the person had been working as a telephone line card reader at the same time as working the sex lines! 

Creating an Oracle Deck

A question often asked is about whether to publish in a pen name, but publishers prefer real names because there is less confusion with royalty payments, and tax offices also prefer it.

      A proposal to a publisher requires information on what qualifies you to write the deck (your journey), and why you have chosen your illustrator and what media the illustrator works in.

     Who is a typical purchaser or seeker for this deck? Why did you chose your particular theme? In what way will the cards help with life’s problems, what type of guidance is described, what type of direction or life path does your deck offer? 

7 Spiritual Laws

1. The Law of Stillness:

Each day, make time for quiet reflection. This will provide a ‘time-out’ from the routine general demands of your day. In this vacuum, listen to hear the ‘still small voice inside’. This will provide inspiration, allow you to take stock, and be rested and uplifted. If you do not create a time for contemplation, you can become pre-occupied and over-stressed and miss what is truly important in your life. It is sufficient to reserve twenty minutes to sit in comfort, alone and without interruption, with nothing to do except daydream. Listen to your thoughts and you will receive revelations.

 

Where Troy Once Stood

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Where Troy Once Stood - The Mystery of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey Revealed by Iman Wilkens  

 "Now there are fields where Troy Once Stood..."

 This is an outstanding research work which puts the epic poetry of Homer in a new setting. The author, the late Iman Wilkens, was fascinated by Homer since his childhood, and later made an indepth study that is the subject of this book. He discovered Homer's poems were oral Celtic tales told 400 years before they were written by the Greeks. The Trojan war was not set in the Mediterranean as has been largely claimed by academics, but is set in East Anglia, between the tribes of Western Europe and the tribes of Britain. Place names and river names, wind directions, time frames, constellations (which are still in use today), coats of arms, etc., were used to identify the true origin of the story. All information is meaningful; including numbers, colours, names, deities, and all are necessary yet are hidden under the guise of an entertaining story. The Odyssey shows sea charts, and the Iliad details the history of the Trojan War. The reason for the war is not the abduction of a beautiful woman, but the highly desired deposits of an extremely rare metal.