Thursday, June 17, 2010

June, 2010

Newsletter from Beth Owl’s Daughter
June,  2010             (919) 620-7525             www.owlsdaughter.com             Volume 3, Number 6
What Is So Rare as a Day in June?
There is no price set on the lavish summer,

And June may be had by the poorest comer.
And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days...
   - James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Hi!
The  long, hot days of high Summer have definitely arrived here in North Carolina.  Even though the Solstice is just now arriving, we have already been bearing the ferocious heat and humidity usually expected in late July and August. But  I can't help myself -- I love Summer.  
 
Maybe it's because I am a Cancer-Leo cusp, and this is my Solar return time; maybe it's because I so vividly remember the wildness and freedom when that last school bell rang and we flung ourselves into golden, endless days of outdoor games and adventures.
 
Now that we are grown-ups (allegedly), we are expected to keep working, march on, and carry the weight of the world on our shoulders -  a weight that is as sad and hard as I have nearly ever seen it.
 
While I can't reassure you that all is peachy-keen, or that it's okay to turn away and close your eyes to all that is currently uncomfortable, I do hope that you will remember to refresh your weary spirit with this most beautiful, simple gift our Mother Earth gives us every year - these rarest days of June.
 
Blessings, 
  -- Beth
 I'd like to take a moment to send out a warm welcome to the 152 new subscribers since the May newsletter went out!  Wow! Thank you so much for joining us.  Please feel free to invite your friends or forward WINGS to them! 
Tarot for the Next Generations

As I conclude this series on exploring the Tarot for children, I have been sharing a great resource for ways to teach and play with the Tarot. Authors Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw have written a wonderful book, “Tarot Games*, that is filled with suggestions for using the Tarot in "out of the box,"  creative ways.

While many of the games they offer are gentle spiritual explorations more suitable for adults, others are ideal for sharing with children.  These exercises can not only nurture your child's unique intuitive abilities, they can bring families and friends together in surprisingly meaningful ways.  Here is one more of their suggestions.

Helping Hand
For two players or more.
Object of the game: For everyone to end up with a complete hand made up of five cards they like.  A complete hand consists of one card of each suit and one Major Arcana.
This game teaches cooperation and illustrates that it is okay to ask for what we need. It also teaches how to recognize the different suits and the Major Arcana cards. 
Everyone mixes up the cards, and each person chooses five cards at random, then places them face up.  The youngest player goes first.
 
On your turn, you can do any of the following: 
  • If you have more than one of a suit, or if you have more than one Major, you can give the extra to someone who is missing that suit or doesn't have a Major Arcana. After that, pick a card from the pile so that you still have at least 5 cards in your hand. Or
  • Ask for what you need and see who will help you out, or
  • You can put a card back into the pile and pick another one.
At the end of each turn, you must have five cards and play continues until everyone has a complete hand.  The more that play this, the merrier!
 
Loaded with many more games, ranging from simple to more complex than space here allows, Tarot Games is a lot of fun and can be a springboard to developing other ways to play with the cards together. 
 
I hope that some of these ideas will inspire you to consciously cultivate your child's self-awareness as a "six-sensory being." Most of all, it is my hope that you are on your way to discovering what a great resource the Tarot can be for deepening the ways that you and your kids can communicate and cherish each other.
 
* Tarot Games: 45 Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together
Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw
HarperSanFrancisco, ©1994 ISBN 0-06-250964-0.
  Green Living
What YOU Can Do About the Disaster in the Gulf
 
As the weeks turn into months, and the blame goes round and round, the BP Oil Disaster drags depressingly on, with no end in sight. Guaridan/UK columnist Naomi Klein offers a blistering, unflinching assessment that, "The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident – it is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself."  It's hard to read such things, but very necessary. 
 
Like you, I can find myself overwhelmed in grief and pain over this, if I am not very careful.  But the preventative for despair is action, so I am searching for ways that I can help.  Maybe you are too.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  
 
Here are some suggestions from Sheryl Eisenberg at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
 
She writes, "This is the time—when we are sick at the thought of the workers killed, sea turtles and other endangered species harmed, fisheries ruined, coastline polluted and coral reefs destroyed—to change our lives.

"To begin, we must change our mindset.
 
"Step 1: Drive less. Do you hop in the car whenever you need something? Zigzag across the landscape to perform errands in opposite directions? Drive where you could easily walk? Join the club.

"Americans burn up gas so freely because it hardly seems to cost them anything. The price at the pump is deceptively low and the true price—environmental destruction—is hard to recognize.

"But for this brief moment in time, thanks to the oil spill, we can connect the dots. Use the opportunity to change the way—and amount—you drive. Plan your trips. Carpool. Walk. Bike. Give public transportation a chance.

"Step 2: Care and repair. Cars and appliances, along with virtually everything else in our consumer culture, are considered more or less disposable nowadays. Since we expect to replace them, we don't keep them in good working order. Thus, they continue to operate, but grow less and less efficient, eating up energy unnecessarily when they run.

"So take your car for regular tune-ups, keep the tires inflated, change your air conditioner filters, lubricate the moving parts of motors and do all those other pesky maintenance tasks recommended in the manuals."
 
I'll have lots more next time!  
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And as a follow-up to last month's post about the SodaStream sparkling water machine .. As you will see in the Owl Mail, I got lots of enthusiastic responses.  If you still need to be persuaded to kick the bottled water habit, I urge you to spend eight minutes checking out this video.
Remember --
Every little bit makes a world of difference.
 
New On My WINGS Blog
 
This Summer Solstice marks my seventh year of blogging. And what a wonderful way to celebrate - I was chosen to be the Blog of the Month by the prestigious Tarot School in their Tarot Tips Newsletter! 
 
(By the way, if you are a Tarot enthusiast, Tarot Tips is a must. Filled with gems of insight and information, it is a free offering from Wald and Ruth Ann Amberstone of The Tarot School).
 
June 2: The Grandmothers Are Calling Us: Since it began in mid-April, I've posted several calls for spiritual aid dealing with the Gulf oil disaster. This one was perhaps one of the most powerful, and continues to generate heart-felt emails to me from my readers.
 
June 9: Pay It Forward: The second part of a very lively two-part discussion of why, if Pagans want to be taken seriously as a viable, sustainable spiritual group, and want to survive beyond the first and second generations of their modern revival, it is critically important that they consider supporting the world's first and only advanced degree Pagan educational institution. 
 
Features responses from such notables as M. Macha Nightmare, Holli Emore, and Cat Chapin-Bishop, as well as several of the students.
 
June 10: A New Way of Being: Scientific breakthroughs in brain function and human consciousness are re-defining what we now know about how humans are hard-wired.  It's not what we've been taught!
 
June 18: Encounters With the Little People: The Summer Solstice is one of the most common times for humans to encounter the Faery races. This is part two of a discussion about the Yunwi Tsunsdi, or “The Little People" of the Southeastern band of the Cherokee nation.
 
Of course, there is also plenty of lore about the Summer Solstice, and the Full and New Moons. Plus, every Monday, I pull a Tarot Card of the Week and post my interpretations.
 
So I hope you'll make stopping by my blog a regular habit.  Your participation is always warmly welcome!
   Coming In July:
An exciting new line of products from Owlsong Herbal Blessings!  Stay tuned!
 Have you missed any previous issues?   I am now archiving them on a new WINGS Newsletter blog location!

 
You’re receiving this newsletter because you subscribed, or because you’re a friend, acquaintance, or client of mine. Thank you for being here; you can trust that I will never share your information with anyone. 
 
However, if you’d rather not be on the list, you can click the link at the bottom to opt out.
 
To make sure you get all my updates, please be sure my email is in your approved "white list" or in your email address book:
zenrose@nc.rr.com
Spotlight on a Local Event THIS WEEKEND:
Celebrating Women Through Song:
The Goddess Suite
What:  An Evening of Celebrating Women, including a performance of The Goddess  Suite, an original choral work by singer-songwriter and  environmental educator Cynthia Rylander Crossen. 
 
Who: Cynthia and her daughter-in-law, Hope Wilder, have assembled over 50 instrumentalists and a chorus of women to perform The Goddess Suite, with singer-songwriter and musical  educator Sheila Fleming as conductor.  Other performers will also appear, offering music, poetry, and dance.

When and Where: Saturday, June 26, 7pm at Northwood High School Auditorium in Pittsboro  and an encore on Sunday, June 27 at the Forest Theater in Chapel Hill.

Suggested donation of $7 (children under 12 free) will benefit local, regional, and global  charities, each of which was chosen to honor a specific Goddess.
 
For more information about this 2010 performance, visit their website at 
 

My Upcoming Schedule
Tarot Readings at Dancing Moon Books,
1840 N. Wake Forest Rd., Raleigh
Saturday, July 10
Friday, July 16
 
Hour or half-hour appointments begin at 11:30 am, ending by 6:30pm. Walk-ins are welcome but why risk disappointment? Call (919) 833-8081 to schedule your visit!
 
* * * * * * * 
You've been asking.. I am finalizing the plans...So check back next month, when I will have my Fall Tarot Class schedule ready to announce!
  
The Raleigh-Durham Tarot Meetup

In June, we started a brief "Summer break" from our formal programs of working through the numbers of the Tarot.  We started off our fun with our semi-annual "Swap Meet Meetup."
 
When we gather on July 21, we will be using Tarot images to make art, including earth-friendly permanent name tags. Join us! It’s free!  We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month.  For details, go here.
Other News: 
Have you ever wished you could afford an in-depth Tarot reading once or twice a year, with regularly scheduled follow-up readings between?
 
Are you going through a major life transition where you would love to be able to check-in on a periodic basis?

Looking for a meaningful, unique gift for someone special? Or do you just wish you could establish a sense of continuity with a reader you trust?

You can! For many years, my clients have enjoyed a number of flexible options specifically designed to help them establish routine readings at an affordable rate.
 
In fact, some of my programs will save you more than one-third off the "pay as you go" rate!
 
But! I am in the process of restructuring my pre-pay plans, so if you want to take advantage of these generous offers, you should sign up and lock in now!
 
Additional details about each of these offerings can be found on my Services Page on my website.
 
Time is running out to take advantage of these. Don't miss your opportunity!
I received tons (or the electronic equivalent!) of Owl Mail this month, mostly in response to last month's article about SodaStream, the electricity-free machine that can turn your tap water into sparkling water and soda. These two were typical:
 
Wow! I had no idea anything like SodaStream even existed nor did it ever occur to me to search for such a thing. I have never been able to successfully become a water drinker. I am a Diet Coke fanatic - love the stuff! And, like you, I gotta have those bubbles...

I checked out the SodaStream site and the huge selling point for me was not only can I make Diet Cola, but their Diet Cola mix does not contain aspartame. AND, holy cow, what an awesome variety of other flavors, too! Peach tea, Cranberry-Raspberry, Ginger Ale....YUM! Thank you for telling us about this wonderful alternative in the May 2010 WINGS. I love your newsletter! 
V.S., Kentucky
 
You are so welcome!  I haven't checked out the flavors, so thanks for letting us know.  Here is another enthusiastic WINGS reader that jumped right on it!
 
I got my new Sodastream the other day. It's fantastic! Thanks so much for the heads up...It's a wonderful gadget. It's almost too easy to use. The first time I used it I really thought I did something wrong because it was so quick to make water into seltzer. My husband loved the diet soda I made for him with one of the samples that came with the machine...
 
I've had it for almost a week and it thrills me everytime I use it. While I am easily amused, it is a fun machine. The kids even like it and we've been experimenting with different flavorings. There's no electricity being used and it takes less than a minute to make soda. Amazing!
    -- E.K.O., New York
 
It's great to hear that it passes that all-important Kid Taste Test, E. And I know what you mean about the slightly silly thrill of using it.  It is FUN, and it feels so great to be liberated from those expensive, environmentally deadly plastic bottles.  Thanks so much for letting us know!
* * * * * * *
If you’d like to write, comment, ask me a question or make an observation, I’d love to hear from you (I respond to every email). Naturally, before I print your comments here, I reserve the right to edit. Thanks!

 Astrological Tidbits:
Now In Progress: The Cardinal Crisis
It really can't be overemphasized.  The planetary alignments now in progress are far and away some of the most dramatic seen in many centuries.
 
The unfolding Cardinal Drama, or Summer of Transformation, or The T-Cross of Death and Rebirth, as some are calling it, is so powerful that renowned astrologer Dan Furst has declared that the entire reputation of astrology is going to be on the line. 
 
He writes, "If July and August proceed placidly and cheerily...then it will be clear that astrologers, this one too, are nowhere within a light year of the truth, or that a predictive system that has proven so uncannily accurate for so long has gone way out of whack."
 
This tension has been building for quite some time, but began seriously ramping up in the Autumn of 2008.  Since then, all the other major players have been moving slowly into place. At the Summer Solstice, the positions hardened into where they will be as they create the big trigger points of the summer.
 
Astrologer Rhea Wolf writes, "The Summer Solstice chart, which sets the tone of things for the next three months, holds a Grand Cardinal Cross – a major gateway energy in astrology. Yes, it’s big. Yes, it’s intense. Yes, it’s time to change. Those who argue for continuing on our current path of overconsumption and violence are delusional and out of synch."
 
Now that the Solstice has passed, there is no going back, and it is important that we all hold on tight and access our most heroic, Divine selves.
 
First, we will be dealing with the powerful Full Moon this Saturday, June 26.  Dan explains this is, "an alignment of terrific power, and harbinger of what is to come within 3 weeks, on July 14.  At this Full Moon and partial lunar eclipse, Pluto in Capricorn conjoins the Moon, both opposite Sun and Mercury in Cancer, while Uranus and Jupiter are conjunct in Aries, both opposing Saturn in late Virgo.
 
"Thus a seven-planet grand cross forms. At the same time, Neptune and Chiron are conjunct, and Mars in Virgo is trine the Dragon’s Head in Capricorn. Venus in Leo is quintile the two Aries planets in the grand cross, so that all the planets and the Moon’s Nodes are linked in one tremendous configuration."
 
Folks, this is rare, and deeply challenging stuff. I am certainly not joining what Dan calls the doom pimps of astrology (and this event has sure brought some of them out of the woodwork!).  
 
But such a dramatic and rare alignment challenges us to ask ourselves  - who are we and what role have we agreed to, in the sacred work of awakening the world? 
 
StarIQ astrologer Ralfee Finn writes, "For the next several weeks, we’re in the thick of ongoing, relentless astral intensity. The final opposition between Saturn and Uranus [as discussed in several previous newsletters - B.] is only four weeks away, and as if that mounting tension isn’t enough, two eclipses escalate the already wobbling ground of daily life.
 
"The lunar eclipse is on June 26 and the solar eclipse is on July 11. Eclipses disrupt normal routines—they have the power to turn day into night—and we often experience their effect several weeks (some say months) before or after the actual event.
 
"Most importantly, eclipses reveal what has been previously veiled. Given the current state of the oil catastrophe, and how the egregious policies of the oil companies and the government have been brought to light, eclipses might just be as powerful as ancient astrologers claimed."
 
My friend, astrologer Lynn Hayes, offers these wise words for working with this energy.  She writes, "I believe that this is the event that will set the wheels into motion.  The Grand Cross is a powerful alignment that creates resistance that erupts into conflict and, ultimately, resolution.
 
"Our resistance to change will be revealed under these influences and we will have to let go in order to ride the wave into a new future...
 
"This is not a time to be afraid – doors are opening now and it’s time to walk through them.  Our world is in a state of terrible dysfunction and a rebalancing is necessary. Any fears and areas of discomfort that arise now are emerging so that they can be seen for the shadows that they are rather than the experiences of reality that we believe them to be."
 
Dan Furst heartily agrees, emphasizing, "Those who will have the hardest time with what is about to arrive will be those who fiercely resist change, most of all in their own beliefs and behaviors; who are endlessly engaged in attacking the ones whom they see as having caused the problems; and who refuse either to accept any responsibility for what has gone wrong, or [refuse] to propose any positive steps toward solutions, least of all those that might benefit people whom they perceive as their enemies."
 
He continues, "It could not be more evident, then, that those who will best get through this summer's events will do the opposite of all these ego-based, negating habits...
 
"We see ourselves as responsible co-creators of the role we all chose in our soul contracts so long ago, and have come to play all-out now in a spirit of service, compassion, celebration and love."
 
Fear not, but do keep your seat belt buckled. This Summer is going to be a major turning point and it's all hands on deck.  Cultivate compassion, take exquisite care of yourself and each other, keep the faith, and live into the changes you want to see in the world.  Blessed be!
Let’s stay in touch!
I specialize in helping leaders, visionaries and innovators thrive while integrating career, creativity and spirituality. If you seek inspiration as well as practical wisdom, I will show you how predict your future by creating it.
 
Please phone me at (919) 620-7525 to make an appointment (in person, or by phone). Or visit my website to set up your appointment time.

 
Thank you again for making me a part of your day. May your Summer sparkle with hope and light.
                -- Beth 


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