Online Reading example
Question from Dena:
I have been feeling lost lately. I’m not sure I know my purpose, what I value or even what my priorities are any more. My family life is a mess but I am trying to choose to focus on the good in my career, friendships, spiritual and physical health.. How can I find my way again? How can I bring myself to find what is important to me?
Dear Dena,
Here is your completed reading using the Story Through Stone Reflection Cards, a deck of my own creation. The cards feature photographs of billion year-old stones from the Mojave Desert in California. The imagery in the rock is naturally occurring and inspire the insights revealed in this reading.
I would first like to extend the sincerest of sympathies around the subject of your question. I can also relate and it hits to the heart. Knowing our purpose, our path, is perhaps the deepest question that can be explored in a card reading.
As a Reflection Card Reader, I draw the cards and allow my intuition and imagination to create a story that will provide insight for your situation. Within the story lies important imagery and metaphors that speak to your question. My interpretation of the story honors your free will and agency to take conscious steps for your highest good.
I would love to hear any resonance the interpreted intuitions have for you. Thank you for joining with me for this Story Through Stone Reflection Card Reading!
For the Spread I used the Three-Card Destiny Spread, inspired by Megan Skinner’s from The Essence of Tarot)
3 Cards, From Left to Right:
Card #1 Woman in Reflection
Card #2 The Flowers
Card #3 Eclipse
Story:
Once there was a woman from above who loved the Creation of Life very deeply. Looking down on its many manifestations she wondered where best she might fit in this world. She looked towards the Light for Guidance and it shone down to a specific place on the Earth’s surface, alighting a common soil. She did not know why exactly the light shone in this place, but she followed it down trusting that it held her rightful residence.
On this surface where the light was shining, a sprouting began in the soil and tendrils of life emerged, taking the shape of thick, tangled weeds of crabgrass. The way this place was growing confused the Light Woman, who was getting used to the weird workings of Earth. Where was her role in all of this weedy development?
And yet this had been given to her… She patiently tended to the weeds, cutting out the roots, one by one. She began to see that there were other plants growing with and around the weeds. Giving these plants the space they needed, they too began to thrive.
Big blossoms began to bloom from the grass. The blooms were so big and red they could not be ignored! They attracted exotic birds and butterflies, who delighted in their nectared brilliance.
They were incredible to look at and had the most amazing smell - but what made them the most special of all was that the flowers themselves had voices.
The Woman of Light, who at this point had spent so much time with the weeds, plants and their blooms, sat and listened to them. The flowers themselves offered the most gentle and loving direction. They would wake her in the morning with their song. She would continue to weed around them, water them, care for them.
When she was worn out and tired they would whisper, “Sleep, now, Sleep!” and watch out for her as she rested.
One day, while she rested in the grass, the moon’s shadow covered the Sun, and the birds sang as if it were dusk. She awoke to new colors around her, a new landscape. Its contours were the same but somehow she saw it all anew. The flowers had gone, it was a change of season. She could still hear the voices within her heart, just as she felt the original light that had lead her to this land. And in its glow, she saw a sparkling Talisman sticking up from the ground where the flowers had been. And she knew this was her gift, her gift to give…
Interpretation:
Card #1 Woman in Reflection
In the Destiny Spread, this placement (Left Card) represents the Past of the Soul and details your inherent gifts, your deepest self. What a beautiful card to fall in this placement! This is the natural image from the stone called “Woman in Reflection” and is paralleled with the High Priestess of the Major Arcana. This is a divine woman, poised and looking up towards a Light from above. She is also veiled, and the veil lifts in the breeze behind her, helping her to be protected yet open to all wisdom. Her hands are hidden, close to her heart. There are secrets to her being she has not revealed to the world.
Being so soulful and sensitive, you may have early on felt high aims for this life. You have a deep spiritual sense and would like to experience this directly and deeply in your unfolding. You have a lot to offer and a lot to give, which may have not yet been recognized fully yet by those around you. This may also be because you have not wholly trusted and revealed it yourself.
You can see the Woman stands on a tall precipice, a bit detached from earthly matters. The complications of the mortal coil may appear as a rude assault to her spiritual senses. As a soulful person she has yearned to walk a path of presence, of giving and following a special call. How this special call translates into the banal and everyday matters can be confusing.
As this image bares significance to your true inner self, it suggests time alone and your daily spiritual practice is essential for you to stay connected to what matters most. As a veiled divine feminine, she does not reveal herself in any circumstance, but knows when to remain hidden from those not ready to perceive her wisdom. Creating the sacred space you need to be in touch with this figure is necessary so that a daily cord remains intact.
Card #2 The Flowers
This center card deals with your Present, the essence of your evolution at this time and how you are wishing to express this essence. This card assists in revealing the gifts of the Soul Woman seen in the first card.
Two brilliant blossoms take shape in this stone. They are red and full of passion. The flowers have erupted from the tangle of growth at their roots. Looking like “a mess” the blossoms have unexpectedly arisen from this place.
The chaotic foliage is reminiscent of your description of your family life. The feeling of being lost within it is an unrealized frustration of this potential underneath that is waiting to arise out into the open. Feeling out of alignment with your purpose and longing for it means that there IS a purpose there, trying to reach YOU. Space is needed in the mess to find the roots of these flowers of potential. Before they can be discovered the complications must be sorted tangle by tangle - What root belongs to me? What roots belong to others? Pull out each tangle of your life and look at it. This can be done in a variety of ways -writing, meditating and personal card readings… If it is yours, decide if it wants to be replanted intentionally into your soil. The tangles that belong to others must be communicated as such, and released back to them, one by one. This may be a process to be completed over time, but the process must begin now as a much needed housecleaning to make space for YOU and the Soul Woman we witnessed in the last card.
This is a process of Love however - as you untangle the mess, thank each tangle as it is full of life - a unique life that belongs to you and will teach you patience and wisdom as you sort out your part of it.
Time in nature is an immensely important practice for you at this time. When you are feeling the mess most, and quite lost with it, go out alone into a natural setting that is welcoming to you. The very audible quality of the flowers suggests to me that you may be able to communicate or at least listen to plant life, who will bear important messages for you. Tell them your troubles and find special ways to care for the natural life around you. A literal interpretation of this card is that you may even consider gardening?! Find your own way with this, but the gifts that emerge in this practice will be priceless. Hearing the subtle voice of nature may reveal to you the next clue in your calling...
Card #3 Eclipse
This third card (on the far right) represents the next step for you in finding your way and what’s most important to you. The Eclipse pictured here signifies a big change in your circumstances. By listening, reconnecting and releasing, you will create waves in your family dynamic. What was no longer working will begin to “be eclipsed” and show signs of falling away.
This, in some moments, may feel like a darkness over the world of your family, however you must know that this is only temporary. Like a solar eclipse, the Sun will emerge again and perhaps more beautiful and appreciated than ever before. The re-found light will bring new eyes to the situation around you.
There is also a lot of peace reflected in this card. When you are tired, or overwhelmed, or need a break - take the rest that you need. When you dream, and then awake, you will see more clearly where the path is calling you.
The Talisman in the story, growing from the Earth’s base is a gift to you. Imagine its detail and feel its strength and connection to your core as you navigate your next move.
Meditation:
Connect with any of these story’s images with visualization to deepen the messages. You might try this meditation out in an open landscape, taking a rest with your back to the earth. As you release all the day’s stress with your breath, surrender yourself to the earth’s purpose, working through you.
If it resonates with you, spend time with the image of the Light/Soul Woman in the Soil, seeing the blossoms in your mind’s eye and listening to their messages.
Summary:
Question: How can I find my way again? How can I bring myself to find what is important to me?
Finding your way will come from rekindling the connection to your deepest Soul Self (the Woman in Reflection) by finding some time alone and practicing your most meaningful spiritual practices. A period of “untangling” in the present will help you to see what is yours and not yours, releasing the latter from your concern. This will allow room for the blooms of your purpose to emerge and to become more clearly visible. Taking this time for yourself will set in motion a larger period of changes in and around you.