Wednesday, 1 February 2017

You Have Mail... [Tarot Blog Hop]



 

Welcome

Welcome to the Musings of an Angel Blog; if you are a regular surfer of Blog Hops then you'll notice that a few things have actually changed on the site. The Menu position for the Blog itself has changed, as has the front page. If you follow or have me on your Facebook under my proper name rather than my pages (Jays & The Reiki Box) then its possible that you know the reasons behind the changes, however in many ways its all cosmetic (or should that be cosmic?) changes. None the less welcome to the site and to this month's Tarot Blog Hop...

What is a Blog Hop?

If this is your first jaunt into hopping, let me explain a little bit about it from my understanding (for those who already are familiar, feel free to skip ahead or go make some coffee/tea)... So a Blog Hop is a new name for something that has been around for as long as I have written journals, it is basically like a writer's circle or in this case a group of like minded people coming together to give their take on a set subject. You get all kinds of Hops, such as a Reiki Blog Hop, which is another one that I participate in.

A Little Bit about Me...

My name is Jay, I have been working with Tarot for 25 years and for those of you good with figures, yes, yes that's right since I was 16. These days when I reflect back to that time I believe it was always going to be my path to end up working with the Tarot, back then I would never have thought that I would become a Collector, Historian, Rescue Home for Wayward Decks and Cartomancer. Believe it or not I actually still have my very first deck kept in safely in a box...

You Have Mail...

Morgan, our blog shepard and cat wrangler extraordinaire came up with a really curious idea for this month; create a tarot card using junk mail from the spam filter and junk email box. Now this would have been easy if it wasn't for the fact I have strict filters that stop all but a few junk emails coming through and none of them usually have pictures. So for a while this really presented me with a problem until this week really. The interesting thing is that I have been working on a deck of Consciousness Cards for about 9 months, although they were originally just meant to be a prototype Angel Oracle for the purposes of the Angel Healing Certificate that I was working towards. However nothing it seems happens without a reason these days, or maybe I am just actively paying attention to what is actually going on around me. The idea behind this deck was simple, select 27 different words, phrases or pictures and then place them on to card. Well my word/phrases became pictures and something that is across between a haiku or a fiat. Naturally I decided to do a test run with the deck and it worked well but then time as well as life got in the way and for about 9 months I put them away and sort of forgot. It was last week when I was taking a development group locally that I was prompted to take the cards, a meditation, the medicine drum and singing bowl. I honestly had no proper idea (as is the way of things these days) until I arrived and it was Enoch (Metatron's human incarnation) that was working with the group. As it turned out the Consciousness Cards resonated with everyone and they related to both the images and text. Since then I have been test driving them on line now as well. As part of the hop I have asked the deck for a card that will be relevant for this time and this space, which I will use as the first part of my hop post. The second part of it is the Tarot aspect, which will be one of the Major Arcana; what I will do is drawn a single card, then select an image from my esoteric collection and basically do a one card reading and then explain why I selected that image etc.

Part One: The Consciousness Card


Archangel Metatron

The Card: Archangel Metatron - "Learn to Listen to Your Higher Voice; Be Guided by the Wisdom and Love from Within"

The Card Meaning: Archangel Metatron works with the higher vibrations, he opens us up to our higher voice and energy centres, this means that we are in essence being guided to work from the highest vibration, which is unconditional positive regard and love for all. Therefore we drop a lot of baggage and preconceived ideas, it doesn't mean that we suddenly forgive and love everyone regardless (wouldn't that be lovely), but rather learn to see both the positive and negative qualities of a person, so that it is possible to have respect without the need for being their BFF.

How the Consciousness Card Work: The original deck that I have worked with when on Workshops inspired me and I fell in love with them. The sad thing is the author no longer in produces and the website has long since gone so I had no way of getting them, the idea of how they work is that you shuffle the deck and then select a card at random. The four workshop that the original deck was used at, each time the card I drew was relevant to where I was on that day and at that time. This prompted me first to try and locate them, and then to change the original Angel Oracle into an Angelic Consciousness Cards instead. So far as I have said above each of the trail runs I have done with them seem to have worked out really well, and so I am planning on laminating this deck I have created so that I can use them in my own workshops.

Part Two: The Tarot Aspect - The Moon

The Moon

The Single Card Reading: To begin have the 22 physical major arcana in front of you, discard the first card as the fool and then pick a number between 1 & 21. The number I chose was 9.

The Card: The Moon

The Interpretation: We all have our own method of understanding and diving the cards, we all know that there is no right or wrong method. I selected this image to represent the moon for a few reasons, partially because the moon is actually in the image, but this image represents the deeper aspects of the moon itself. Mainly the connection to emotions, sensitivity and also honouring the divine aspect in all of us.

The one thing about this moon card is that it talks about the soul, the connection to the soul and honouring that connection. Look to the card and notice the ghost outline resting upon her shoulder, consider what that soul aspect is saying not just to her, but to you, because at this moment, the female figure is representing your inner voice and soul aspect regardless of gender.

The Gravestones are representative of regret and all the words, actions and thoughts that either have never been, could have been, should have been or would have been; in other words they represent the past and it is time to release that past and let go. There is no point in holding on to something because eventually it becomes a weight. There is also little point in becoming too self-reflective because your mistakes and errors are something to be learnt from not to be measured by.

Finally progression is always going to be slow and steady, notice how she is considering the placement of her fingers, as a musician, a performer and a professional she must both learn and then become completely at one with her instrument. This translates to have knowledge of you and your talents, then forget and allow nature as well as your natural instincts to take over. Above all else listen to the higher voice and the soul's song.

Attention to Details...

This wasn't the image that I had in mind originally but as I looked through my collection I found that I was actually drawn to use this one. There is a lot happening in it and if you are a visual person like myself then a dry image with only a static image or a few elements is not really going to be that inspirational or effective. However this particular image has the right balance of activity but without being hyperactive or dry. I felt the connection to the image and just knew that if I were to create a Tarot deck then this image would be my choice for representing The Moon. It is haunting but also calm at the same time; which is really something that a moonlit night can be.

Conclusion...

If I am honest I really hadn't too much of a clue how this blog post was going to turn out, if anything I thought I would possibly manage a few paragraphs at best, I never expected to discuss my consciousness cards in ny great detail let alone place up a reading. Likewise I never intended to explore the idea of creating a Tarot Deck or even select a card and then decide on replacing the image with one I felt drawn to and then do a reading based on that image.

So this for me has really been quite an exploration of my own depths and abilities as well as writing for a blog hop; it is my hope that you got something out of this part of the blog hop. Remember there are links below, above and to the side on the menu that will take you to the next post in the chain.

Thanks for stopping by
Namaste
♥ Jay ♥
 
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Deep Night of the Sojourn [Reiki Blog Hop]


 

“...An endless circle or chain ...”

Welcome Friend; regardless if this is your first visit or you have clocked up frequent blogger miles; welcome! My name is Jay, and it is a pleasure to meet you. To the seasoned blogger this bit will be familiar to you, so feel free to skip ahead; however if you have never encountered a Blog Hop before then let me give you a kind of potted history. The blog Hop is a new name for a tradition that has been around for as long as I have been able to write HTML Code and string a paragraph together and call it Creative Writing.   Think of it like an endless circle or chain, where a group of like minded writers and bloggers collaborate on the same subject but give you their unique view or opinion, each one leading to the next one and back the way. To stop anyone getting lost there is a Master List, which is like the index. That index is hosted by The Wrangler (look out for the Tarot one I am co-hosting in September) they have the job of herding the other writers and keeping them on time and track... I make their job sound easy but think of it along the line of herding cats, in the dark through a maze with a mine field underfoot...

“... Many, not all, have a what you could call a spiritual experience...”

This month the topic for this Reiki Blog Hop is Spirituality and Reiki; A topic that has in its time amongst practitioners and masters alike caused a great deal of divide. On the one side of it you have those that don't believe there is a spirituality to Reiki, it is a healing modality that provides comfort, relief and whatever else the client needs. Thing is there is nothing wrong with that view point because that is what Reiki is for that practitioner and the master who birthed them. As a master I tell my adepts (students) what you experience during that time is personal and private to you and you do not need to share it unless you wish to. Whether I have been a student or the master; from my experience many, not all, have what you could call a spiritual experience.   Unless you have read through my entire site or know me through Facebook and the associated pages I run on there or follow the Reiki Box Blog, then you may not be aware of how deep my connection with Reiki stems. I coined the term Sensei a number of certificates and courses ago, the reason why I did that wasn't ego, amouris or to be different but it was because I realised that I have become master in many different disciplines Usui Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, Karuna Reiki as well as Shamballah MDH Reiki and Angelic Reiki.   The first thing I say is Reiki, is Reiki, is Reiki; meaning it doesn't matter what name you give it the frequency and light source still comes back to the same place, which in this case is The Universal Reiki Light Source. Now as you can start to see I am actually of the belief that Reiki has at least a spiritual element, should you choose to embrace it! The word Reiki is actually two separate words that were put together when the Kanji was translated into English.


Rei: Universal/Unlimited Ki: Light, Living Force, Chi; whether you follow the path of non-spiritual or have a belief that it is spiritual for me, for my sojourn I understand it as something much deeper than spiritual and something more tangible than just a healing system. However that is perhaps because my soul's path has led me to explore through past-life recall my connection to Reiki and my time as Sensei Usui-san; don't misunderstand me, I am not stating anything here as a fact, mainly because within Past Life regression it is all unique to that person. Yes! many of the facts that come from within that state can be further backed up in historical texts, but you can still argue (as so many still do), Usui-san life is documented widely across the internet and books so yeah it could have come from that (if you ignore the fact I am dyslexic and have severe retention issues).


"... Maybe it's because I am awakened to my Sojourn through Angelic Reiki..."

As a practitioner and also master I allow Reiki to simply be and I follow in accord with its wishes. Mainly because I am of the belief that Reiki is a sentient living energy that lives in symbiosis with us; it helps to heal not only other lives but our own as well, it doesn't actually matter if you believe that to be the case or not. I recall one my earliest experiences of the differences in how Reiki is taught, I was under the impression (innocently at that time) that everyone was taught the same way as I had been and at that time I was still understanding my own connection and I made a point that maybe there was a lesson happening or something along those lines and the answer I was given back was sharp to the point. It gave me a pang of oh my maybe the lesson is mine to learn...

Looking back on that moment in my memory now, I realise that not everyone has been awakened to the spiritual aspects of reiki, and maybe not everyone will. I think it's maybe because I am awakened to my Sojourn through learning and working with Angelic Reiki that my perceptions have changed. I personally don't understand the distinction between Usui & Angelic or any of the others but there is a subtle divide there...

Reiki for me is my life, it is in everything that I do; from my Tai Chi practise, to the words I speak and type, it is even in the food I eat and the drinks that I have. Recently I have been exploring this deep rooted knowing that I have a strong connection to Ancient Shinto practises; through reading up on Taoism and also Shinto in today's Japan and also going back through Imperialism and Feudal Japanese customs I have realised that Reiki (while not given that name) is there, it is throughout the belief system you just need to know where to look.

I work alot with Archangel Metatron and for long enough I would always separate when I was working with the Angelic Kingdom, the quarters in my Wiccan/Pagan work and also when I am speaking to the Kami I would make a distinction there as well, however in the last week or so during my Tai Chi practise, I come to see there is no need to separate them! In Ancient Shinto Practises when someone passes into the Spirit, their essence or soul is greeted by the Great Kami, who then transmutes (for want of a better way to say it) into the ways of being Kami. In Western Spiritual beliefs, it is similar the soul is greeted and welcomed into the spiritual worlds, just as in Wiccan/Pagan belief system they are welcomed into the Summerlands.

The interesting thing here is that when Pagan/Wiccan are forming the circle they call to the Quarters. These Quarters were once known as The Archangels of The North, South, East, West and also Spirit as well.   Now I realise that you may think I am off topic, however not really. When I am working or getting ready to work I will use Reiki symbols such as Sei-Hei-Ki for cleansing and clearing but I will also call to the Kami and Watchtowers as well while doing so; as I said Reiki is in everything that I do... I come to learn that while it is a deeply simplistic way of being it is also one of the most profound methods of healing known, if you are open to those aspects.

"... Reiki's roots stem into Shinto, Tao and Buddhism ..."



I think a lot of how we approach the Spirituality and Reiki connection comes down to how we are birthed into Reiki; I never used to think or even allow that concept enter into my consciousness and unless I am actually organising workshops or Usui Reiki Days. I also think that when the topic comes up, much like the spirituality connection to Reiki, there is this almost territorial or wounded lion attitude as if I am insulting someone or saying I am better (which I am not and never have) so I avoid having the conversation, when all I am really trying to do is understand the differences, as there maybe something within it I can learn from or maybe there is something that mutually we can benefit from...

When I say birthed that is exactly what it is - at least for me - I take the practise of Reiki teaching, quite seriously but I am not a task master when I am doing it. I make the day easy, simple and light but also make it a learning environment and professional one as well, just like when I do my Reiki Sessions. I take the same approach to Angelic Reiki facilitating but the difference is I allow myself to be guided in what needs to happen at the right time. In both instances I believe that a form of spiritual rebirth takes place, a person goes through something profound and personal. In many ways they are birthed.   Just go with me while you are reading this, try not to attach any thoughts or judgements because what I am about to lay out here is my own perceptions from within the Past Life state...

When I went for the Past life recall it was a present and also something that I was called to do (as I am being called again to go through another one). I went through to a life time that I understand now to be Usui-san; it was a simple up brining, working in the Dojo until I was old enough to go and become a monk within the Buddhist ways.   I spent many years training and upon my 21st year I was required to do a spiritual pilgrimage to one of the most sacred mountains in most of the older faiths from Japan and China. I walked for some days up the mountain and eventually reached the meditation shrine and temple. It was during the meditation I was taken to the place that Buddhists call Nirvana; in this space the Kami/Buddha showed me a way to heal, this method was ancient and had been forgotten but needed to return to earth.   Upon my return I left and began the journey home, I met a young woman who had blistered hands from farming and so I healed them, this was a hands on healing and when I was finished the blisters were all but gone. I learned upon returning to the temple that I had been away almost three months rather than the few weeks I had thought. The Sensei of the temple was very ill and I also healed his ailments. The Sensei then took me to the oldest part of the library and showed me records that detailed this old healing system. Hence the birth of Reiki as it became known.   Granted much of this is known and some could be discerned as my own meditations but there is now documented evidence that does show that Sensei Usui-san was trained as a Buddhist monk and further to that historical records in Japan also show that Shinto, Tao and Buddhism all have a common ancestry, so even though it may have through time lost its spiritual roots (along with Shinto as well) it is there and in manys ways ready to be awakened again.



"Spirituality is perceptive and unique..."

Although Reiki as taught in the Western world has removed a lot of the spirituality from it, we are beginning to understand that this was mainly because in the era that it was brought to the West spirituality was only thought to be religious doctrine dished out on a Sunday from a pulpit, 'where the devil made her do it' and 'he is a good and holy man' covered every sin conceivable (and others that we only read about with the lights off...), we are realising now in this era of awareness and awakening that spirituality is perceptive and unique to the person, so not everyone is going to see Reiki as a spiritual philosophy or have an awakening from it, but that said I am running an Angelic Reiki workshop and new practitioners will be birthed who might well have profound spiritual experiences from this weekend, but that is the nature of this frequency of Reiki...  

Thank you for stopping by my blog and reading my entry for the Reiki blog hop; I welcome your comments, feedback on a post is appreciated by writers like as myself as it encourages to reply, write more and be more engaging and creative.
 
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Can I Show You to Your Table? [Tarot Blog Hop]



Welcome to the Mabon Tarot Blog Hop;
 
My name is Jay Cassels and I am your Head Chef Extraordinaire for this month. It kind of blows me away a little to think that this is the fourth hop I have done, it's also going to be a bit tamer than my last outing but I don't think by much, so a little caution my lovely readers, I might make you jangle with my approach, but then if we were all the same, blog hops like life would be a bit on the dull side. If you aren't that familiar with these things, it's okay because we all start somewhere; I am not as eloquent as some of the other hoppers when it comes to explaining what it is, but the nuts and bolts of it is this, a hop is like a writing circle, we all work with the same theme but each of us has a different perspective or idea about what the theme means.

 

The theme for this month is Foodies Guide to the Tarot... In the planning stages, I had this almost absolute certainty that I knew what I wanted to write, there was this plan in my head and here we are on the day (well okay for me this is a week early in writing it) and I haven't stuck to the plan at all, even while I am editing it the plan is changing...
 
However that for me is a sign of experience and I think all Chef's like Readers get to a point where they can take a good recipe, and once they know it inside and out, start to play about and try to use different mixtures and ingredients to add a little flavour and it occurred to me today during the editing that this how I work; I have taken my readings, the decks and the spreads, looked at them as they have been and then changed them, given them a new flavour but at the same time tried to stay as true as possible to the original.

I began to play about with spreads, decks and even my readings when I came to own The Dishonoured Tarot Deck, which was from the Console game of the same name. I had been aware that the deck was part of an in-game plot device, after reading up on the Console game. The release of the 'tarot deck' was so that player of the game could also play Card game in the same was as it was in-game. This reminded me of Edinburgh and talking (yes I did flirt as well) with some French blokes about the old language for a card game being Tarot once upon a time; I remembered from what the guys told me, it was a French word that made its way over here, much like the game of Trumps that I used to play with one of the cute (but alas straight) French (read as twenty something) boys.



As they taught me the basics of the Trumps game, I noticed that some of the Tarot cards were in the deck, when I asked them about it they explained that in France they have decks that were similar to the Tarot but used to play card games instead of 'Fortunes' which was their word not mine.
 
Much like my time in Edinburgh; I wasn't very keen on the mix of ingredients from Dishonoured and so I began to mix a new batch, this time I threw in some extras such as a Crystal Ball, and Oracle Deck alongside a new ingredient, which was the Wildwood Tarot Deck, but I still kept my options open and held onto the Legacy deck as well just in case. The trouble I found with this mix was the balance felt a bit like my life at that time, in many ways, the more I tried to change things the more they stayed the same. So needless to say before long I threw out that mix as it really wasn't working. It was as if each spread was thick and like a cake from the Bake Off thing, too flashy and had very little taste (as well as a soggy bottom).
 
At some point during my time with the Tarot I started to realise that when people try to be flashy and showy, like some kind of carnival act, or attempt to be all puppy dogs, love, light and sparkles (yes I have a thing about this at the moment, yes I am aware there is absolutely no need for it... however, read on) all that happens is people end up with groupies and an elevated sense of self importance because everyone sings their praises and says how oooh and ahhh this so called amazeballs person is when in fact, the only thing that is good about them is the flim-flam, wham-bam thank you for your money mam and they are off routine. Each time I have met one of the showy types they haven't told me anything I didn't already know, in fact they rarely tell me anything, other than its all going to work out, you have an incredible gift and ooh look time's up that'll be your life savings please...
 


Yeah! I am a little jaded and like the occasional icing on a cake, perhaps a little bitter, but it comes from doing this for so long, (currently at a guess 25 years); so my style like my cooking has changed considerably, although I prefer basic foods these days, I also prefer simply readings, that are uncomplicated and easy to follow; there isn't really any need to tart things up and make them look flashy or showy, a victoria sponge will taste as nice with some strawberry jam and no icing, rather than slathering it with 78 different toppings, three layers of icing and a candle the size of everest with lettering that says oooh look at me, I am the worlds best ...
 
Don't get me wrong, there are people that like that kind of thing, in fact I would go as far as to say that the need that kind of thing, to be told that everything is going to be fine, that they have no mistakes and prince charming will jump out that big seven foot cake, with nothing but a smile and lots of big endowments. He'll then sweep them off their feet and they'll have more cream than they'll know what to do with for the rest of their natural days. However they're not going to want to hear about the reality, the cold water in the face the next morning, or the fact they have to deal with their own shit! because no one else is going to clean up their mess. Simply because most people need someone else to blame and since we do the cards, we are the ones who didn't make their dream life happen...

 

I'll admit to a few things here, I have been that person who has been force fed the blame; I have been that person to point the finger of blame too; these days I tend to leave my apron in the kitchen and dawn the dinner jacket, the swept to the side hair and take the customer to their seat. Its a far, far better approach, because instead of serving them up what they don't always want or are going to like, I simply show them to the table, hand them their menu and say the choice is yours, you can see what is there and sure the soups of the day is the ten of swords, but its okay because our desert is the lovers; would you like a two of cups with you wait? Can I offer you some strength on the side to go with that?


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Riding the Mercurian Mania... [Reiki Blog Hop]



Normally I have everything under control, I know where these blog articles are headed in advance and it's a matter of plonking this butt of mine down and letting the fingers do the work... Normally... There is nothing normal about this Blog Hop, nothing has gone to plan and you know what, it's actually perfect... and in accordance with divine will...

This is my fourth hop and each one I have done has been different to the one before it. I am going to dispense with the typical and usual welcomes, and just say this; a hop is awesome, its wild and honestly you never know what is going to appear on them, so buckle up baby, you are in for one hellva wild ride with this one... 

Massive Kudos to our Wranger, Cat Hearder and Awesome Overlorde Karen for this one...   Let me back track a little, to the end of July; I had been on a de-armouring weekend that completely stripped me of explanation, story and fears as well. I had this new found confidence and I wasn't afraid to challenge the normalcy and also live my truth not everyone elses, and put it this way it didn't go down all too well, but then in all honesty I didn't expect it to. 

The funny thing about the whole experience is that I learnt about being in-service and about holding space not just for clients but also for myself as well. This then led me to wanting to learn about the whole thing in more detail from learning about acupressure to Chinese massage, to the Munay-Ki not to mention exploring past lives, trance and Qigong as well.

Right about now though I can image the question fluttering to the surface "What has this got to do with Reiki or this month's topic?" - Everything and also nothing at the same time.

Everything because it's that whole Mercury Retrograde, which has a science and astronomy aspect as well as the astrology aspect as well, it also has nothing to do with it at the same time but here is the thing, Reiki for me is in everything, it is everything. Reiki is a contentious topic, in religion it causes havoc; spiritualist churches disavow it and will not permit anyone that has been attuned to actively promote or make use of it because they consider Reiki not to be from the source, and yet spiritual healing as they define it comes from the exact same place as Reiki flows from it is just a completely different approach, needless to say I have very little to do with the SNU (Spiritualist National Union), I have more than a few times even before waking up to my potential gone head to head over various things with a president or two...

Over here in Scotland, my mum welcomed practitioners of Reiki and other natural and holistic therapies on to her wards more so during her time as a cancer care ward sister (not a manager... That in itself is another post), they had a special room set up on the wards for the therapists and if the patient wasn't able it was done in their private room or behind a curtain for privacy.

Unconventional runs in our family...   Science in the conventional sense I don't think understands the fact it is sentient bio-energy that merges into symbiosis with a master/practitioner; to be honest I don't even think many master/practitioners have realised this or even considered the possibility because they're not ready to take that next evolutionary step in their thinking but I believe in time they will.

As for my GP, hell there is so much about me that she does know and so much more she doesn't but I will say one thing, she is really open to my way ways of thinking, but then I know that she is not like other Doctors or GP's and that is why I am with her. There has been a great change in attitude and it continues to change because even the medicine man or woman wakes up to the possibility there is more to life than a diagnosis. In fact there are times when we have taught each other something, which is rare in any profession. 

There are instances when Reiki can cause an issue to well being, but it is not what you might think; more and more now Reiki is evolving, sometimes this is for the betterment and then other times it can become a detriment, certain Reiki's like Kundalini have evolved because there is a need but its evolved in the wrong way, almost like it is a fad or a jumping on the bandwagon, there are few who really understand this primordial energy. I can really only think of one or two people, Bonnie Greenwell has the only sensible approach to this energy awakening.

Don't get me wrong used in the correct fashion and approached with reverence and allowing Shiva and Shakti to be the guides you can at least understand your primordial nature and work in a limited way with that energy awakening. Tantra and Kundalini often become confused, but they are not really the same thing at their core and I do not as yet know enough about Tantra to speak with any authority on the matter and I can barely speak about the Kundalini outside of my own awakening and research into it. 

However I know that I can help those who are ready to take that step along their awakening through Kundalini Reiki.   Coming back into the title now "Riding the Mercurian Wave" 

This whole week has been blurry, lots of transient shifts and a ton of realisations about, well about my own journey. Learning to hold space, learning to embrace and be fully present in myself opened my eyes to just how much spiritual ignorance exists. So many assume they know, assume they are experienced and awakened, but then when you pierce that bubble you suddenly discover that they aren't experienced. 

Riding this Mercury Retrograde Wave has been flagging up that I can actually walk my talk and quite literally am very prepared to shit where I sit, (which is not a nice experience) but it evokes the truth in having vulnerability, and the truth of having the feeling of weakness but in that weakness having the strength and the knowing, I have strength to push beyond my IBS limitations and overcome that boundary and do what I set out to do is liberating and shows just how much I am able to endure. 

I have witness my darkness and I embrace and live in my light now, within this freedom I am able to see those who are embracing their truth and those who are textbook, literally lifting and spouting their training or lack thereof. These days when I am working or training I actively hold space and I may not de-armour using physical pressures and meridian lines but instead the Reiki heals and opens the student to their truth and fundamentally prepares them for their practitioner and master journeys respectively.   As for the spiritually blind, I have found myself shining a very bright light into their darkness and asking... "Why?"

Thanks for stopping by my Reiki Blog Hop, please feel free to leave me a few words or thoughts.   

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Walking with the Ancestors [Tarot Blog Hop]

 
Welcome to the Samhain Tarot Blog Hop;
 
Hello, welcome, don't stand there on ceremony or give me that critical eye thing; you should be familiar with my ways by now. Ah so your new to this that's okay; honesty just put your deck down over there for a few, hang up your broom over there by the door and grab some left overs from last months Blog hop, they're fresh out the time portal. Tonight is about honouring the ancestors after all its Samhain, All Hallows or Día de Muertos, if you happen to speak Spanish or come from Mexico.
 
This is my time of the year (except maybe for driving in the dark), there is a chill to the air, you know the snow or at the very least the frost and ice is about to start forming and let's face it, the spooks and ghouls (oh and freaky fools) start to wake up. This time around I don't have any plans that can go awry but I know that it's important to follow this one through, because not only will it be relevant to the Blog Hop but I also sense that its going to be honest, revealing and mildly sentimental. So if its not you thing or you feel that you may end up doing a disservice to your ancestors and mine with you comments, then maybe best to just skip ahead.



Meet my family, this is dad, mum and me; hubby is the one taking the photo. Dad's been with the ancestors now for going on five years. He was terminally ill with a progressively degenerative condition known as MSA (Multiple System Atrophy) and it was just all to do with when he was ready to let go and return home. My family was and still is awesome, a bit crazed at times, disjointed and touched or tainted (really depends on how you look at it). Dad in his own way was empathic and the other side (meaning mum's), well I am convinced that my grandma coming from fishing folk (so I'm told) was a seer, she would do the tea leaf readings and the palms for folks but stopped when she witnessed/foresaw my aunt in an accident.

Thing is all that had to end up somewhere, so it chose me or rather I believe I chose it. All through my life cycle this time around it's been in the background and then one day it decided to get acquainted with me and well since then it's been nonstop. I will get to that, there is something that I need to deal with first...

I think what brought home this year to me was getting married, it changed and yet expanded my life in ways I really didn't think was possible. Two words within a sentence and suddenly I have a whole new set of ancestors that I didn't even know in my life, which is massively wyrd when you have a great uncle and a ancestral king from a family you've known a little bit about and now suddenly they want to tell you their story in dream-o-vision, complete with bloody murder and up close and personal madness.



However I have learnt to deal with death; both the card and the moment of death. You see I have felt the passing and witnessed the passing of more than one member of the family line, it's odd because the sense of peace and beauty that comes from it, the understanding and complete knowledge that you obtain from being the witness is, well it has no words. 

 The picture here is of my father-in-law, husband, myself and my mum; I felt my father-in-law pass to the higher side of life, it began the day he made peace with his son, it is a personally held belief of mine that some moments are sacred and only meant to be witnessed by the family themselves. Without needing to be in that room, I knew that everything they needed to say, all the moments that needed to be, happened in that room and then when it was done, my father-in-law had decided there was no more needing done and chose to meet his wife, my dad and all the others that wait beyond the veil for us. I do think there is a beauty in that; we may not get to decide how we are going to exit, but at least once its happened, there is some solace in the knowledge we'll be made welcome...


This weekend I went on an ancestral healing workshop, a lot happened on the workshop and I was able to witness a great deal, work with the tools that we learnt but I also connected with all four of the family lines; my dad's, mum's, hubby's and also my past lives; the part I am glad about is none of the lines needed to have it out with me or me with them. 

 I seem to have a healthy respect for all of them and know I can call on them when I need to as well. This started me thinking in terms of Tarot, maybe it is possible to help clear the past using the representations presented in the cards, we have plenty of archetypes to work with from Hierophant as the grandfather to the Emperor as the father, but is there a Grandmother figure within the traditional deck? 

 The mother is represented as the Empress, the daughter as the High Priestess, with the Star as the virginal sister. The fool the son and the Magician the brother, but where do you find the Grandmother? Originally I thought it may have been The World, but thinking about it this can have too many representations. I know that a lot of it depends on the deck but I am just thinking of the general rule for the major deck as it was in the like of rider-waite or the IJJ Swiss.

 I have a varied family tree and my past lives are certainly very interesting and there is a wealth of understanding and knowledge within them that they allow me to access when it's needed. Having learnt from my Grandma on Mums side how to read not only cards but also tea as well as the Crystal Ball, mainly from the spirit side than here on the physical, plus learning to come into alignment with the empathy and sense of things as I have, I have come to realise that being a seer or oracle is not to be taken lightly. The more I write (and yes edit) this I am not sure that I would use a Tarot deck to help heal wounds of the past, mainly because one set of grumpy ancestors is enough but an entire spirit world of them, no thanks! 
 
A huge thanks and shout to our Cat Herder and Blog Wrangler Louise for this idea, do leave me a thought, a comment or a WTF if you feel like it and enjoy the rest of the tour, don't forget your deck, your broom and great uncle bulgaria's map of the internet in binary for the blind on your way out... 



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When Letting Go is Hard to Do... [Reiki Blog Hop]


 
It's funny how I always seem to adopt a different tone when I do this blog hop compared to the Tarot Blog Hop it's not that I don't treat it seriously because believe me I do, I just have a completely different approach to tarot, maybe because I have worked with it so long, we've got to a point where I give just as much attitude as I get from the 100+ decks I have in my collection. There again maybe its just with Reiki, I live within the possibilities of endless wonder.
 
This month our reiki cat herder and resident wrangler Joy, has brought up the topic of letting go and to be fair, I almost let go of the drink in my mouth upon reading the topic. I believe my actual comment was something along the lines of "...gees have you guys been scrying in your coffee and seeing my life this last two weeks??? I have a novel waiting for this one... followed later with something like "...seriously I think I have now reach my fifth volume for this post... in all fairness to this post, we're looking at a sixth volume at this point.
 
I chose to let go of some of my weight I had been carrying, I chose to let to of just being engaged and entered into an unconventional but completely legal marriage... twice... I chose to let go of who I believed myself to be and in the process of a full weekend discovered who I actually was, I have been placed into a position where I have had to let go of a pedestal and discover the heart (and to an extent soul) of a person that I had a lot of respect for and I have also chosen to let go of inherited ancestral baggage as well as help other let go of theirs.




 There is no doubt in my mind though that I still have work to do, the process of letting go, this shedding continues throughout life, it doesn't just suddenly stop one day. One of the most liberating things you can ever do is to surrender to the natural flow of reiki, its not like science, it's not a text book method or a one-size fits all; yes! Reiki, is Reiki, is and always will be Reiki, no matter how much window dressing like words, symbols or mystical babble that gets created, at the end of the day it comes back to the fact its Reiki.  
When you really look into Reiki, its history, its cultural heritage and even the language and philosophy of it; there is at the core of it, one blissful reality; Reiki is simple. Regardless of which history you read there is a point where the symbols, their meaning, their origins and purpose are discussed. Depending on which history you read will affect how you relate to the symbols and their function, meaning, origin and also purpose both functionally and beyond that function.


 

The most common one I find difficulty with is the traditional Kanji, there is really odd debate about it not being correct and yet this is the one that actually defines Reiki at its most traditional, because it is the one that Usui-Sensei taught (allegedly just to be safe and not cause that much offense). My main sense about this is that as soon as it was brought over into the Western world, because there is so much mis-information and dis-trust between East and West, those that chose to bring it here (regardless of reasons) they decided to make it palatable for us so took out any spiritual or mystic reference and created what is mostly out there today.
 
However, as tourism and curiosity about other cultures took hold, we started to become more inquisitive and now we have more information than we really know what to do with, so where do you let go and just forge your own path? This is exactly the point that I am at; 2016 has been a phenomenal year of transformation for me. It has also been an almost full circle too; recently I charted my progress in terms of my certificated knowledge, meaning the colleges, universities and also masters and courses that I have done throughout my life. I am tempted to forego the laborious process of writing them all out, but no! At least not this time, this is about letting go and that can be seen in two ways, the release of the bad but also the releasing of knowledge, and information and let's face it; how much do you really know about me?
 

Not that much I would imagine; Since 1998 I have studied: Media Skills, Hairdressing, Communications, Computing, Crystal Therapy, Character Analysis, Parapsychology, Numerology, Journal Therapy, Psychology of Self, Dream Analysis, Meditation Teacher, Tarot Card & Cartomancy, Counselling Skills, Spiritual Healing, Creative Writing, Wicca, Usui Reiki Level I, II and Masters, Angelic Reiki Practitioners, Masters and Teachers, Astrology, Angel Healing, Kundalini Reiki, Karuna Reiki, Gold Reiki, Shamballa MDH Reiki and I'm also studying Massage Diploma, Advance Crystal Healing and Chinese Massage & Accupressure.
 
The interesting thing about this year is while I am happy to have typed all of that out, I also release it; I have an entire alphabet after my name these days, but they aren't me, they are what shaped me. I build my own computers, design a lot of my own logo/graphics - although admittedly these ones I am using are a gift from a friend good friend of mine - this year I have also learnt about de-armouring work, ancestral healing and I have also learnt a very valuable lesson about hero-worship and pedestals.
 
Throughout my reiki journey, I have heard the same message over and over again, 'there is enough room for reiki practitioners, we're all one big family, there is no competition, we all help each other...' Let that one go! It's said by those who are in a position where they have a stable client base and been in business for a while. They've got nothing to be concerned about and further they really don't see anyone they are teaching as a threat, they also have another part to their business and Reiki is just apart of it. Since branching off into different areas of Reiki, I truly didn't see there was any dark side to it, until I stopped looking at things from the higher side perspective.
 
You see when you take it into the physical, factor in living, money and running a business; it is highly competitive and there is no big Reiki family, in the past month alone I have been called uncaring, I have been told that the only reason I am even contemplating some of my business ideas is because I am coming from a place of ego, money or stealing students. It's not in my nature to be any of those things, so it says more about the person saying this than me.
 
While I care about what is said about me, I also know that I am not that person being described; it is a view point coming from where that person is in their life. However it makes me realise that I have that skill set and I know that I am able to do that work, facilitate and bring new practitioners of Reiki, any Reiki into awakening and maybe its time to just stop trying to living within this world, where people and reiki are meant to be at a higher vibration, to be awakened in their own way; its clear to me that many are only coming from their own place, and at some point they have stopped being present and in their bodies to hear the message that is being broadcast within the silence.
 
"Reiki is Simple" "Reiki is Light!" "Reiki is Perfect Love!" This energy is a mirror, its a guide and it is a gift. Every person that has ever done Reiki, has been given an amazing gift, its set them on their pathway, from Shaman, Witch, Master, Practitioner, Facilitator, Devi/Deva and all the inbetweens. Reiki holds up a mirror, and says look at where you are, where you need to be and where you want to go... Reiki is Reiki is Reiki... and sometimes you just really need to let go of who you think you are, where you think you are and what you believe you are and simply be...
 
Thanks for stopping by this months entry on the Reiki blog hop. Please feel free to leave me a comment on here or on Facebook if you have trouble with my comments page.


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Movement of Light & Shadow [Tarot Blog Hop]




Welcome to the Tarot Blog Hop for December, this month is a little different for me; as I am having to work at the time it has gone live. Therefore I have done a Vblog or a Video Blog. It is a little unconventional I grant you, and it was 'fun' trying to put together, which believe me is a post all of its own on the peril and pearls that come from outdated technology.

 Firstly huge shout out to each of the Wranglers for this year, Joanne Sprott, Louise Underhill, Arwen Lynch Poe, Aisling the Bard, Morgan Drake Eckstein, Karen Sealey, Ania Marczyk, Joy Vernon, and not forgetting myself in this as well. Now as you know the blog hop is a bit like a round robin or a wytches circle, in that there is no end and no real start either, simply a group of dedicated bloggers, writers and also Vbloggers, discussing tarot, oracle or runes cards as you'll find in the video. 

 There is a theme to the month and this one was thought up by Joanne Sprott.   

Going back to the Dark Side, the Hidden Realm beneath the autumn leaves and the snow. It’s time to dig...

 
 


 Well I hope that my entry has been of interest and you've managed to watch through it all, have a great hop and please feel free to leave me a comment in the positive, negative or neutral as every bit of feedback helps me and the likes of me to do more of the same (and different).  

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The Space Above Handbrake... [Reiki Blog Hop]



When I read the brief for the first Reiki blog hop of 2017, I just thought; "What the feck can I say about this?" I honestly didn't know where I could take it, however before I follow that through, let me bid you welcome to my blog/site/little bit of escapism. 

 If you have never been here before then, I'm Jay if you want to know my background in Reiki then all you need to do is look at my profile Here on Facebook it has all the things you need to know that would normally sit here in the introduction.

Karen Seely, Wrangler, Cat Herder and Crisis Juggler Extraordinaire; asked us this:

 "New Year! As much as I’d like to be original and innovative, I’m going to sign up to the seasonal trend and ask you to share your thoughts on New Year. Do you love it or loathe it? Do you have your own traditions? Does this time of year affect your Reiki practice and if so, how? Do you have any resolutions or revolutions that you are planning? etc etc... Take ‘Reiki’ and ‘New Year’ as your springboard for inspiration and see where it launches you ;)"

So as I said before, I had no idea where I to take this and perhaps I still don't; all I know is that this year is really different for me compared to 2016; that was mostly about ending cycles, bringing a lot of things into completion, things is a broad and really generic term because of some the things that were being brought into completion were to do with trust, to do with betrayal of trust and a huge part of that was also releasing really old, like eons old stuff that I had been carrying for, well for the collective put it that way. Right now it's okay for you not to know what the collective is, just stay with this for now.

I had a massive pre-release near the middle of the year, this was a massive precursor to the betrayal that happened at the end of the year and the amount of hostility, anger, and basically downright violence in the intention of the words, opened up a huge, huge thing for me; a process that stemmed from the etheric through to the physical.

 I'm only literally getting to grips with the feedback that is coming to my body just now. In fact would go as far as to say that this is the definition of live, what you are reading is happening real time, this is a textual process that is happening and it is huge, huge stuff; this piece about betrayal, about the relationship between master/teacher, therapist/client, reiki practitioner and reiki client, it's a huge, huge responsibility.

 It's not about trying to 'fix' the person on the bed, it's about getting them to fix themselves. We're just holding that space, creating through our own intention the right conditions for healing. When you have the master/student role, it's not about our power as masters, its about us holding the space of the students to learn, receive and become attuned through their own sovereignty. It's the alignment of the self that provides the attunement, as a master we're taught to do because our master was taught to do.

 To be honest you could stand there and by intention allow the whole process to happen. Thing is the master/student relationship is also one that is a huge thing, as a master, there is an element of the student looking to the master for reassurance and also I guess a form of friendship, but that can so easily be abused, and betrayed. I have discovered this and it called into question just how 'pure' is the vibration of the energy of the master if they can then betray the friendship and trust of a student/friend?

 To attack them with just hostile intention and really stabbing words, language is a powerful tool and to have the knowledge of that from being in receivership of some down right nasty vile shit (excuse my language) has been a hard one to let go of.

 I know that I switched into unintentionally this person who tried to micromanage and control the outcome, avoided being in failure mode by just being present but not showing fully up, keeping that little bit back that may have blurred the lines, because that what was needed, and then having that challenged twice, once for the wrong reasons, meaning my master and then having it challenged again today but for the right reasons, because I was in the space to receive it as unwelcomed as it felt, I wouldn't have heard and then written about it here if I hadn't already been ready to welcome it, to hear it and to receive it. So now I know that I won't be holding back, I will be showing up and to be told I am not doing it right, that I am not doing as I was taught, you know what I say Good! Thank fuck I am doing it according to what I have been trained to do not what I was taught to be. As that is what is going to make me awesome. So yeah I had no idea where this was going, but this year... 2017, bring it!


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