The Lady in the Picture

Before I go gushing and waxing about the actual cards in the Fairy Tale Tarot, I want to take a moment to talk about the Lady in the Picture. Sounds like a novel doesn't it? Well, I'm actually referring to the lady in the picture above...the one I used in the header of the blog. Nothing "special" so to speak.......simply an image I found on glitter graphics. It caught my eye and captured a bit of the idea of fairy tales, tarot or oracle cards, or just what I call the soul's journey through life. Let me explain.....

Pause for a minute, scroll back up if you must and look....really look....at the picture. Think about the colors, the images in the picture, the mood that it evokes, any words, phrases, or thoughts that come to you. Let your mind float free for a moment, as you gaze upon the image.

Notice the mist in the background, hovering, concealing just what is in the distance, but with a bit of sunshine breaking through. Isn't that so like life? There are so many things we will never know during our lifetimes. There hidden behind the mist they await discovery. Yet every now and then, something "breaks through", like a bit of sunshine. A tiny bit of understanding, enlightenment, a clearer focus on our path along this journey we all travel. It reminds me of tarot/oracle cards, conversations, relationships, art, poetry, and writing...all means of facilitating a greater understanding of self and life.

Notice too, the beauty of the surrounding landscape: the flowers, the green growth, the clear water, the golden reflections. There is no ugliness in the picture and to me it represents the world as it should be. Peaceful, lovely, tranquil, and just a little mysterious. There are things we are not meant to know in this lifetime, but they play there on the edges of our minds. Known and yet not known.

The lady in the picture is me. Oh, she looks nothing like me, past the fact that my natural hair color is red. Yet she is me none the less. Or perhaps she is that part of me often referred to as the soul. She represents that part of each of us that is unencumbered by a human body but is beautiful and kind. The part of us that can soar to heights as yet unimagined. As she gazes into the clear water, she is like each of us. Looking into the water, seeking answers, wondering, searching, musing.

Captured in the clear water, gazing back at her...is her own reflection. It reminds me that when we seek, look for the answers we strive for, that sometimes we so desperately desire. Those answers are already here, contained inside ourselves. We have only to gaze, contemplate, and recognize these gems. In the water's reflection, we note one thing that is not a mere reflection. Or is it? It is the white feathery wings that are in the water's shimmering reflection but are not part of the woman herself. Yet I wonder. Perhaps the wings are part of her, part of all of us. Maybe they are a reflection of the spirit or the soul, or whatever term you choose to describe that part of us.

I ponder this but the answer is hidden, there behind the lovely mist, waiting for another time to reveal itself. The Fairy Tale Tarot cards are like gazing into that pool. They reflect different aspects of each of us. They illuminate or accentuate those parts of us that we seek, or deny, or just long to understand. The cards and the fairy tales they are based on, provide a framework for understanding self and the human aspects of life. And maybe the "not so human" aspects too....the spiritual. They are the water in the pool. Clear and shimmering, reflecting clearly and yet also bringing forth tiny glimpses of those wings. It is this aspect of the cards that called to me. I feel they have things to reveal to me and I am anxious to hear them "speak."

So those of you that wish to join me on the journey...you are most welcome.