I am the one who weaves the web. I am the one who puts the pieces together. I am the one who knows the connectedness of nature, and of all things, of all souls, across time, across space, across the Universe and beyond.Ā I am the one who bursts forth with strength of body and Spirit.Ā I am the one who is colorful, creative, and yet beyond words.
What do you have to give me?
I give you the knowing that everyone and every living thing is connected.Ā I give you the gift of connection.
What do you want from me?
I want you to SEE the connections.
I want you to be aware of the connections between you and every other living creature on this earth.
I want you to know that you are also connected to the unseen and that these connections transcend time and space. I want you to pause every now and then, and remember that we are all woven together in one wide and glorious web. I want you to tell others about the Connections.
At a workshop a while ago I made this card (to the left) intentionally to honor the place that Fear has taken in my life.
Who are you? We are the ones who are hiding out behind the windows and doors of your psyche. We are the ones (and there are many of us) who are afraid, who huddle together in your mind and whisper fears to you as you sleep and while you are awake.
We are the ones who have been with you since childhood. You inherited us from your mother. We were her fears too.
We speak to you of powerlessness and joylessness. We paralyze you with our scary stories that are mostly false.
What Do You Have To Give Me?
We give you a sense of ancestral lineage… we give you a closeness to your mother that you never felt while she was alive.Ā We give you something to think about and focus on besides joy. We give you huge distraction from the present moment.Ā Sometimes, when the fear is valid, we give you time and a way to prepare, a way to meet the fearful thing or person.
What Do You Want From Me? We want you to buy into our stories. We want you to believe that you are powerless to change what makes you afraid. We want you to always be afraid, because this way everything will stay the same. We don’t want things to change. We want you to continue to hold yourself tight in your fears and try to keep yourself safe that way.
Is There Anything Else You Want to Tell Me Today? We are telling you that we have much power in your life and we are afraid that being aware of us will make you send us away. We are just now peeking out of our well-walled fortress and smelling the fresh air. Others have actually made their way down to the street and are on their way to freedom.Ā We have been with you so long, we are not sure what to do if you set us free.
FEARLESS
Fearless
At the same workshop, I made this card intuitively, not thinking about what it was all about. I was drawn to these images, and they seemed to fit together perfectly. When I worked with this card later, I realized that it is my Fearless Neter!
Who Are You? I am the one who breathes fire, who plunges forward without looking. I am the one who bravely flies through the air, knowing and trusting that I will be caught.Ā I am the one whose body is strong and tall and who stands and moves proudly through life.
What Do You Have To Give Me? I give you strength and I give you courage. I give you fearless energy to move through your life. I give you joy in the moving forward.
What Do You Want From Me? I want you to not hold back. I want you to JUST DO IT!Ā I want you to move forward with trust and strength. I want you to leave your fears behind. I want you to know that you can do whatever you set your mind and body to.
This whole adventure with these two cards was really eye opening for me!Ā It was a powerful example of how things are “at work” inside of us during this process even though we’re not aware of it!
I madeĀ this card years ago and always thought of it as my “sacred space” Neter, but then I listened to Kathryn Costa’s Kindred Spirits class on goddess archetypes and learned quite a bit about them.
I took the Goddess Quiz on the site that she recommended, and discovered that my own top three personal goddess archetypes, expressing themselves in my life right now are: Persephone, Artemis, and Hestia.
After reading more about Hestia (Goddess of the Hearth) on the recommended site, I suddenly realized that I already have a SoulCollageĀ® card for her, and this is it!
Who are you?
I am the one who loves to stay home. I am the one who turns away from drama and turns instead to the sanctuary of my inner life. I am the one who creates and operates from my own inner sacred space. I am the one whose inner fire burns brightly and warms my soul.
What do you have to give me?
My gift for you is the intuitive ability to create a homey atmosphere of warmth and sacredness wherever you go.Ā I give you the knowing that your inner life is paramount.
I made this card years upon years ago but only recently has its profound meaning unfolded for me.Ā I am seeing Journey now as an archetypal pattern that has always been present for me.
Who are you?
I am the idea/theme of Journeying.Ā Everyone is on a journey.Ā Others may accompany you on your journey, but it’s something that only you can do.
Your life’s journey is yours to take, it is your responsibility and yours alone.
My message for you today is this: there are times to pause and rest, and times to stand up and move forwards. Know which is which.Ā Be sure that you are giving yourself enough of each.
Have you heard about these amazing bristlecone pine trees* that grow only in isolated groves in the western U.S.?Ā They are more than 5,000 years old and are thought to be the oldest living organisms known to humankind.Ā They grow extremely slowly because of cold temperatures, rocky soil, and high winds.
Because of the high winds and rocky ground in their environment, it is impossible for rain to penetrate into their root system to offer nourishment and sustenance for growth.
But here’s the thing.Ā Insects dig into the earth and feed off of the roots of the bristlecone pines. This breaks off the tough skin of the trees’ roots so that water from the rain can actually get through. Thus these amazing trees are nourished through their wounds.
And here’s another thing. The bristlecone pines’ trunks and branches are scarred by the rough winds. Then dirt comes into the grooves/scars, which makes them look beautifully tattooed. They allow themselves to be written upon.
What I take from this beautiful gift from Nature is that even in a difficult environment, even when chaos is blowing all around me and I am laid low to the cold, cold ground, I am still growing. I am still being nourished. There is always a way to open to nourishment, even if that means allowing my wounds to be the vessels for new growth and sustenance.
*I give thanks to Clarissa Pinkola Estes for telling the story of these trees in The Joyous Body, an online class I took with her in the spring of 2011, which is now available in CD format.
I made this card for my deck to honor the lesson of the Bristlecone Pines:
We are the ones who grow amidst rocky soil and difficult conditions.Ā We are the ones who only receive water because insects chew holes in our roots.Ā We are the onews who are etched upon by the wind.
Our message for you today is this: our energy is part of your energy.Ā You have survived and grown strong in spite of bad “weather” and nutrient-poor “soil.”Ā Stand tall and proud and with grace.Ā Embrace your own story.
Who Are You?
I madeĀ this card years ago and always thought of it as my “sacred space” Neter, but then I listened to Kathryn Costa’s 
