READING FOR MAY 25, 2020

Today’s reading comes to us from the Archangels. This time, they selected three different Oracle card decks to represent the universal messages for this day.

The first card they drew was “Meadowsweet” from The Druid Plant Oracle deck.

The second card they drew was #4, “Blue Star,” from the Blue Messiah deck.

The third card they drew was #35, “Trust…All is as it should be” from the Goddess Dream deck.

When I looked at these cards, which on the surface look like they do not belong together, I knew my thoughts and actions preceding the reading were a part of the messages.

So, here is the back story. A few days earlier I had gone to a local Botanical Garden to do some bird photography. I was super excited to get out of my neighborhood and back to a garden that has played such an instrumental role in my spiritual growth over the past 10 years. The garden had been closed due to Covid-19, but it had just re-opened and I went on-line to read up on the new guidelines for visiting. As a member, I could still get into the garden an hour before the general public without having to make a reservation. But, all non-members had to purchase advance tickets as to limit the number of people inside the gardens at any given time. Once inside the garden, everyone was to maintain a social distance of 6 feet or more for the welfare of the staff and other visitors, wear a face covering, bring water since all drinking fountains were closed, and to take note that they had become a cashless establishment. Nothing surprised me, except for the last point about going cashless. I wondered how many other establishments would also become cashless and, if this would become the norm instead of the exception.

I arrived at the Botanical Garden and it was so beautiful! Everything was in bloom and there was an explosion of color everywhere I looked! The weather was mild, the sky was blue with white clouds, and for a little while I was in bliss. But, at 9:00 am the general public came running in, and I mean that literally, and it became a free for all. Joggers began to run on the walking paths while children began running around screaming and yelling like it was a public park. None of the children were wearing face coverings and neither were some of their parents. Groups of families gathered together and celebrated seeing each other and there was no social distancing anywhere. The energy of the garden had completely changed. While the management may have been limiting ticket sales, it felt like a flash mob and it was overwhelming. The birds quickly left and, when several people starting sneezing and not covering their faces, that was my cue to leave. It was a rude awakening. It was my first public outing besides going to the supermarket and Petco and my bliss had evaporated.

While I understand that some people do not believe Covid-19 is real, or they believe the virus is not as harmful as the media has portrayed it to be, I was troubled to see that belief play out in the Botanical Garden that I respect, enjoy and have thrived in. For some adults to wear a mask to get through the gate, and then remove it once inside, is dishonorable. The guidelines were few and simple, established for the greater good, but they felt they did not pertain to them.

When I shared this experience with my brother, he said he had a similar experience. His local garden shop had reopened and he wanted to support the owner by purchasing soil and plants to start a summer garden. He told me that people were impatient waiting in line to pay for their purchases and bitterly complaining. They were not standing 6 feet apart, and when the owner started yelling at the customers to comply with the rules, it apparently did not go over well. The Yelp reviews submitted that day were brutal.

My brother and I spoke about how obvious it was the owner did not know how to calmly communicate his growing frustration and disappointment over the customers behaving badly. What should have been a celebratory day for the small business owner opening his shop back up, instead turned into a professional disaster. And, instead of the customers having compassion and understanding for one another, and being grateful to go to the garden shop again, they just wanted to get in and get out no matter the personal cost.

So, my brother and I both experienced the “not-so-sweet” reentry into activities we have done many times before Covid-19. Have you had a similar experience lately?

This now bring us to the three Oracle cards.

The “Meadowsweet” card comes to us from the Druid Plant Oracle deck. To be a Druid today means to: “live in accordance with nature, honoring nature in all that we do, with dedication and devotion, in service to the land, our gods and the community.” How ironic that the Archangels would select this as the first card since I did not see any honoring of nature or community while at the Botanical Garden!

The fragrant Meadowsweet is a hardy perennial found all over Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Its tiny cream colored flowers bloom from June to almost September and have a sweet almond-like scent. So, as Spring is coming to an end, and summer begins, Meadowsweet’s flowers will begin to emerge and remind us that every season holds many beautiful, sweet and familiar aspects that should be honored and celebrated.

The bees featured on the card are pollinating the Meadowsweet flowers, for they have found a rich source of food and the optimum place to land. They will recruit other bees in their community to fly to this chosen food source to ensure that pollen is deposited within the same plant species and that the Meadowsweet flowers in the region will be utilized to their optimum effect.

Also featured on this card is Blodeuwedd, the Welsh Flower Goddess, created from nine different kinds of wildflowers which included Meadowsweet, Cockle, Primrose, Broom, and Oak. This Goddess represents the Earth in full bloom and the promise of Autumn visible in Spring.

With this card, the Archangels tell us that as summer approaches, and as we reenter into familiar activities within our communities, we each have a role to play in ensuring the most optimum outcome. The attitudes and actions we take now, will be visible to us in Autumn. In other words, if we don’t adhere to what we know works…like social distancing…will there be a second wave of the virus in Autumn?

If we have the good health to leave our homes, then we should celebrate this fact, preserve it, and ensure the good health for others by being honorable with our actions. We can get out in nature and enjoy her benefits, but we need to do so with respect for the land and everyone around us.

The second card is the BLUE STAR and when I saw this card I immediately thought of my experiences with The Light of Jesus. Just a few days before this reading, Jesus had appeared in my living room as a multiple chain of orbs in the colors of indigo blue and white. Receiving this card is no coincidence!

On this card, we see several white orbs of Light, illuminating the heart, throat and the third eye of the blue colored Being, along with a large white star radiating Light above his head.

This card symbolizes that when we live from the heart; we are guided to speak, see and treat one another from a higher consciousness. We are able to acknowledge our human diversity, but know the truth that we are Spirit Beings on Earth. We can provide hope and spread love with our words and actions and we can inspire others to discover their own internal Blue Star.

And the third card is, “Trust…All is as it should be,” and features the season of Winter. I have another Oracle card deck with a similar message on a card. I’ll never forget the first time I drew the card, which was on the 10th Anniversary of my Fiancé’s transition back into Spirit. I asked him, “what do you want me to know on this day?” and the card’s message was…“Nothing has gone wrong.” Words cannot convey my thoughts when I saw that card. Since then, I have drawn that card over and over again and I always associate it with my Fiancé telling me to trust in a bigger plan and know that all is well.

While my heart’s desire would be for my Fiancé to still be physically alive and healthy, in hindsight I can see how his physical death (which was at the end of Winter in 2010) lead me to where I am this very moment. I can see how his passion for feeding hummingbirds lead me to start photographing these tiny birds in my backyard as part of my grief therapy. I can see how his best friend tried to help me by inviting me to take a walk at the same Botanical Garden I visited a few days ago, and I said I would go if I could bring my camera. I photographed birds that day that I had never seen before and I promptly purchased a membership and have been a member for the last 10 years. In fact, the Botanical Garden often uses my nature photography to market the garden.

I can see how my bird photography lead me to creating a website to share my images because I had amassed thousands of pictures that were doing no good just sitting on my computer. And, I can see how having my own website, creating galleries for the different animals and locations, prepared me for when Spirit started showing up in my photography. I was able to easily create new galleries to feature my experiences with The Light and my Fiancé’s Light is featured in many videos.

So while I wish things had been different, I can see how everything has unfolded as it should be to lead me to this place, this time, and to be sharing my journey with you. It has not always been an easy path, but it is my path, and I have learned to be guided by my own Blue Star.

Life moves. Seasons change. There is more going on around us than our perceptive reality. Trust in a bigger plan and all is as it should be.

Stay well.