Paint it eight of cups

The eight of cups is a sign of emotional stagnation. This happens when the flow of energy or love suddenly stops and you are waiting for it to return. However, waiting is not a good thing for you to be doing, as you will not be going nowhere, you are going to have to move yourself. The eight of cups therefore symbolises walking away from a difficult situation. As cups are linked to emotions, then it would probably be a relationship that you are giving too much to and not getting nowhere near as much back. One sided relationships cause nothing but pain, so when the eight of cups appears in a reading, it is a slap across the face that can not be ignored.

Come seven of cups

The seven of cups tends to appear when there is a difficult decision to make. It is the time of strange and wonderful gifts, however some of these gifts have a sting to them. Lying amongst the glittering gifts, is a snake and dragon. This means that sometimes you have many options, all of which are good within your reach, only one of which is the right one. Sometimes they are the delusions of imagination and there are no options at all. This shows choice and plans that may not be rooted in reality, which is fine if they remain in fantasy. If you try to root these ideas in reality, you will only be left disappointed. The idea will have no foundations and will fall at the first hurdle. In the odd cases it might start to get going, but the fall will still happen. There is also the element of temptation within these choices, as the serpent of jealousy is amongst the options. As it is the cups, this temptation is of a sexual nature, one night stands or extramarital affairs, something at the time seems pleasurable but the consequences are life altering.

The Strong cry!

At the beginning of a new year, I am reminded about my strength and that I am a stronger person than I think I am. Is that actually true? I have survived one of the toughest years in my life and the rewards for that are immense. However, that is all I have done is survived. I am not strong. I just refused to die. Some may even suggest that I have blossomed this year, finding both love and having my poetry published. But I am normal, not special and certainly not strong. I am still battling the demons of depression and still cry when I feel I can no longer go on. I am getting better at looking at myself, and I see an normal person looking back, not the fat ugly beast that I once did see, but a woman, plain and normal sized but I know that as the year goes by, the belief in myself will grow. I would also like to report that it has been just over three months since I last self harmed. I doubt I will ever look at myself and think there is a beautiful, sexy and desired woman, but I will see myself as someone that deserves the love that I do get. I am about to go through the door into my new life, with a job, love, a place to call my own and something resembling a literary career. I will counter-argue that I am not strong, but I am no coward either. 

Selling the imbolc

There are several foods that are associated with Imbolc including hearty winter dishes, preserves,dairy dishes and bread. Meat roasts, root vegetable and heavy sauces are great for group rituals. Deep in the winter months fresh food is harder to come by, and people would have been surviving on what was pickled. Imbolc is believed to have derived from the Gaelic world “Oilemc”, “ewe’s milk” and  this became the reason for the celebration, as this was the first sign of spring., with the birth of new lambs and a new food source, milk. This was the symbol that even though things still appeared harsh, changes for the good are on the way. Any dishes that involve cream, eggs and cheese will always go down well at imbolc.