Raindrops and Oracles

and some substack news

Hello Dear Friend,

Welcome to another Sunday Letter, a place where I share the randomness of my life, my observations and thoughts about how we can better connect with not each other, but also the natural world and the spiritual realms.

First - Some News

Substack sent me an email this week to tell me that I am currently sending out these letters to over 100 people! That just blows my mind, thank you, thank you, thank you, for subscribing, for commenting, for leaving me a like on the posts and for those of you who have been kind enough to buy me a cup of tea. All of those things leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Thank you so much.

For those of you who are new here, welcome, if you would like to find out a little more about me and what to expect please click here.

Raindrops and Change

Last week I mentioned I had just finished listening to Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, there is a chapter towards the end called Witness to the Rain. It talks of how whilst sheltering from a rain storm Robin observed how the raindrops changed depending on where they landed and the plants they came into contact with.

It instantly made me think about our interactions with one another.

How who we brush up against in our everyday lives changes us, changes our outlook, and can even change our mood.

Think about that for a moment.

How the person you sat next to on the bus, moaning and groaning about their bad luck or ill health, made you feel anxious, sad, or just glad you only had one more stop to go before you could get off the bus.

How the person in the coffee shop smiled at you, and who asked with genuine interest how your day was going, and made you feel seen.

How the kindness of strangers when your shopping bag burst, changed a challenging situation into an affirmation of the goodness in the world.

Think also of the interactions you have with others.

Were you kind?

Did you smile?

Did you ask your friend how they were, genuinely wanting to know the answer?

We are as unaware of our impact on someone else’s day as they are of the impact they may have on ours. I know I can sound like a broken record on this point sometimes, but tread lightly in this world of ours. Speak and act from a place of compassion, kindness, love and curiosity and you will do little harm.

I came across this quote earlier this week:

If you know what somebody wants, you know what he is like.

–W. H. AUDEN

The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays

It struck a chord with me, if we asked and really listened I am sure the wants and needs of others are very similar to our own.
We want to be loved, we want to be safe, we want to be heard, and we want to be seen, even if only by those closest to us. Curiosity, understanding and love will guide us with open hearts and minds to a greater understanding of each other. Only by loving our fellow beings and believing in the universal connections and divine energy we all share can we start to work through the hate and pain in this world.

Oracle and Tarot Cards

I recently started a new journal - The Clear Habit Journal from James Clear, he of the *Atomic Habits fame. So far I love it, the paper is nice and thick, and will even comfortably take a little bit of watercolour. The dot grid pages have markers so it is easy to divide the page into thirds, or in the case of my calendar pages 9 even blocks without counting, absolute genius, but most of all it has a section marked up 1 line per day. I am using this section to track my daily tarot card draw, every day I draw a Tarot card to see what the universe would like me to know about the day. I have added into that practice drawing a card from *The Sacred Forest Oracle Deck by Denise Linn, to enable me to fully get the feel of these cards. Those with long memories will have noted that this is the deck for the Oracle Card Reader course I signed up for a while ago, you are correct. I am working my way through this course again, and will hopefully have it completed by the end of this year.

You have all got to help keep me accountable on this, is that ok? I will need to do some readings in order to gain my certificate, so I may, no scratch that, I will be asking for some volunteers later in the year…

Anyhoo, the Oracle card I drew on Saturday was Butterfly Spirit - Transformation

*The Sacred forest Oracle Deck by Denise Linn

Butterflies have been everywhere lately, I keep hearing friends mentioning them, seeing them in social media posts, and one friend has even crocheted a butterfly toy, which shows all the stages of a butterfly life cycle (really it is very very cute).

Ravelry Link to the pattern

So, I felt the universe was giving me the nudge to share this card with you all this week, and I hope it speaks to you too. My first thoughts when I saw the card was that it reminded me of the Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli, but then the meaning of the card came through, how we are all capable of turning the grit of everyday life into pearls, pearls of wisdom or maybe even pearls of energy. We are all capable of transforming situations and structures into new ways of being, new ways of seeing the world.

Changes are coming, relax and allow the vibrant energy of this new life cycle to flow through you.

Things catching my eye this week:

A Door into Contemplative Life by Mary van Balen This is a lovely article about attentiveness and is it just me, but I just love the bug hotel in the picture on the post.

Audio Sanctum - a new YouTube Channel, it not only has wonderful choral and choir music videos but also has a 24/7 live music feed of choir and chant music. It is so soothing.

Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.

Love and Light,

Tracy

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Until next Sunday, goodbye friends.

Links:

Anything in bold and underlined is a link to the relevant article or web page. None are affiliate links, just things I hope to benefit you, or people whom I admire and have worked with in the past.

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