August 2018 – Coneflower Soul

Our youngest left yesterday morning for her second year of college. It was very different from last year this time when our baby was going off to college for the first time. There is less unknown, less worry, less weeping. Being away at school was very good for her. She was ready for it and she thrived in that environment. That made it easier for us to let go this year when she left. She seemed very much a high school student this time last year and now she’s a young woman. How much of that is a change in her and how much is a change in our perspective, I have no idea. I’m just happy to see it.

Of course it didn’t stop me from drawing cards for her year ahead. A quick overview of sophomore year.

Bright and hopeful yet at the same time balanced and grounded and ready for the next adventure.

This school year does feel very different for me too. It took me awhile to get used to having no children to care for. I know, she was a high school senior, but I had to be available for her now and then. With her physically gone from the house, and taking care of herself elsewhere, I was freed up to focus on my own stuff uninterrupted. It took some getting used to. When she came home for the summer it was a different adjustment. Things got put on hold simply because there were more people in the house and I couldn’t take over as much space as I needed for some projects. Knowing she was leaving had me planning which of these things I was going to dive back into.

That surprised me a bit.

Then I thought about it and realized that I have let her go.

You’re not ever really done being a parent but the relationship shifts as the kids get older. She is and always will be my baby girl but she is her own person more and more each day. It’s wonderful to witness.

Movies and television would have you believe that only the most superstitious among us believe in divination. They portray these characters as sweet, well-meaning, but gullible. You know, the schtick: smart American teenager dragged along to the fortune teller by their grandma or an aunt who hangs on every word the readers says while the kid rolls her eyes. Sometimes they throw us a bone and have something happen to teenager that is uncanny and the reader predicted it. Teen considers for a moment that divination is not so silly and they leave you wondering.

But is that what really goes on?

No.

Do I have superstitious clients? Yes, and so does my accountant and dentist and auto mechanic … but I have lots of clients who aren’t what you’d consider superstitious. They are intelligent, well educated, and understand that something bigger is going on in the world; something more than what they can see right in front of them. Together we tap into that to help them steer their lives accordingly.

There was:

~ A school principal who needed a strategy for dealing with a resistant school board. I pulled cards and together we designed a game plan for her school that benefited her students and didn’t irritate the board.

~ An IT specialist who needed help deciding which career path was best for him.

~ A Special Ed teacher who was meeting administrative roadblocks for implementing some excellent programs. Tarot showed us where the blockages were and how to deal with them.

~ The charming young woman who was presented with a career opportunity she never expected and didn’t know how to navigate.

~ The business owner who wasn’t sure if he should relocate his shop or open a second location.

These are all serious people. They are smart, educated, thoughtful, and know to make use of the tools available no matter how unconventional. Aside from that one episode of MadMen, I’ve never seen this side of Tarot portrayed on TV.

Summer has quite a few lovable features. What’s not to like about long days, bright sunshine, and colorful flowers? Sitting in the yard as the sun sets and the fireflies come out, is unique to summertime. There is no need for extra layers of clothes when you go outside. Even the thunderstorms are more alive and vibrant this time of year. Yes, it’s all lovely, but summer is my least favorite season.

I enjoy the changes from one season to the next. I live where we get all of them and I do like them each in their turn. Summer, however, wears me out faster than the rest. By mid-August whatever charm summer holds is gone as the humidity closes in. The weight of the air makes even wide open spaces seem crowded and a simple stroll feels like work. Yes, watermelon is refreshing and fresh peaches can’t be beat. There is nothing quite like meat cooked over hot coals served with a fresh salad you picked that day from the garden. Yes, it’s all lovely and it all tastes better if eaten indoors in the air conditioning.

Summer seems to be everyone else’s favorite. I’m the odd one out. I’m okay with that. I love autumn. I love socks. I love soup and having to wear a sweater. I love cool breezes coming in through the windows I can finally open because it’s not blistering hot and sticky outside. Yes, give me a crisp, autumn day where I can bake bread without overheating myself and I will take that over any summer day out there.

I think we should bring back Lughnasa in earnest. A celebration of the grain harvest, in gratitude to the god who wrestled it free from the forces that would keep humans from having it, seems a worthwhile way to spend a weekend. Summer needs another holiday and this is a good one. A summertime Thanksgiving celebration of a successful growing season and harvest. It would break up the long, hot weeks that follow Independence Day and would a nice way to ease into fall. Not to mention, gratitude for the food we eat. Always a good idea.

According to Patricia Monaghan, in her encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology, the legend is that Lugh’s mother, Tialtiu, died of exhaustion from clearing the land of Ireland for agriculture. In remembrance and celebration of her, Lugh started a festival. There was the ritual harvest of the first corn, athletic competitions that were similar to the Olympics, and feasting that included a roasted bull. This lasted a few days during which people would get married, or dissolve their marriages. New laws were enacted. Disputes were settled. There was storytelling, music, dancing, reenactments of the legend of Lugh defeating Balor, the god of famine and blight. Lugh’s triumph meant food for the coming winter and that’s the difference between life and death. Definitely worth celebrating.

In the modern, western world we don’t really have society-wide celebrations like this. We have reduced all the old rituals, holidays, and their celebrations, to one day each. I think we’re missing out. Imagine the whole country taking a three day weekend to celebrate in gratitude the yearly miracle of the harvest. It would be a good time.

Coneflower Soul

Endings and Beginnings

Who Really Uses Tarot?

About Summertime

Lughnasa

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