Another Day in Exeter

Today was my last full day in Devon before heading down to Cornwall tomorrow. In England, counties are the roughly the size of what states are in the U. S. The day started off with a tiny bit of yoga, only 10 minutes upon waking and sitting up in bed. Hey, it's 10 minutes more than I've done in a year so it freakin'counts. After that I went to sit out in Karen's beautiful garden with one of her sweet kitties, Whisper, the 3-legged sweet little angel from Jesus and God as my precious friend Catelyn would say. I've been wanting to read more. Ok, let's be honest, I've been wanting to read period. Embarrassing to admit but I don't make time to read anymore so I want to implement a rule to read for at least 20 min per day. My plan was to sip my coffee and read a bit from a book my dear friend/sister Rhonda passed on to me when I was in LA last month, Warrior Goddess in Training. That was short lived due to a wonderful surprise of two of my friends from Cornwall stopping in for a visit. They were driving up to head to a regional airport as they started a vacation in Spain. It was so nice to feel the element of surprise given recent events. My coming to visit from America was meant to be a huge and wonderful surprise experience for everyone including myself with the exception of four key people. It was a need-to-know basis and we were the only ones who actually needed to know. Well due to one eavesdropper dropping the dime like an informant in an episode of Law & Order SVU, the entire tiny community knows. If you can't tell, let me be clear that I'm really pissed. So this made Amy and Jack's visit all the more enjoyable. Amy and I got really close last year and we were so happy to see each other. Yep, I just posted that picture of me looking like I just rolled out of bed 20 minutes before. Because I had.

After they went on their way I caught the train the two stops into Exeter. It's a very old and a pretty city that dates all the way back to Roman times. It is as far to the Southwest as they got in England. So when I say it's an old city, I do mean old. Many buildings date back to Medieval times and long before. So it's an interesting mix of ancient with modern. This includes castles dating as far back as 1068, the architectural beauty of the Victorian era to brand new construction. An example of Gothic Revival architecture would be the magnificent Royal Albert Museum located appropriately on Queen St. It was erected in 1868 and is a perfect example of the glorious style known as Victorian architecture named after Her Majesty Queen Victoria. I had planned to once again spend the afternoon there as I had when I was here last summer but time did not permit due to my time with my friends. 

Next, it was on to Superdrug and my favorite shop, Primark. It's a retail store that is very inexpensive and decent value for the money. I picked up a nice pair of jeans for just £9 along with cute fuzzy slippers and a pair of shoes for 3£. I love it. Maybe I'll do a post on the cool things I got from both stores. 

After Primark and Superdrug I decided t end the day spending time relaxing at Northernhay Gardens. It is conveniently located just next to the train station. It is the oldest open public space in all of England dating back to 1612! But this areas history goes all the way back to the Romans when the occupied the area. The drive is guarded by a wrought iron gate with two beautiful displays of the Exeter coat of arms that read Simper Fidelis. Though it immediately made my American self think of the Marines, it actually a suggestion from Queen Elizabeth I back in 1588 due to the loyal citizens of Exeter ponying up from the coffers to help defeat the Spanish armada. (Told ya this place is old!)

A beautiful tree-lined drive leads to the Exeter War Memorial, a tribute to the county's servicemen and women for their bravery and sacrifice. The figure at the top is a representation of Victory. 

The park is another spot I visited last year, so this time I was surprised to see an archway I had noticed before in the wall that the Romans were using as a city wall to guard the castle just near it. It opened to more pathways and rolling hills of ivy, butterfly bushes, shady trees and flower gardens filled with lilies, echanacia, to name a few.

I found a nice little spot to sit down and relax. I used my jacket as a pillow and laid back and unwound in the peaceful arms of nature in a perfectly temperate day. Then I broke out my Lenormand cards and did a quick little daily read that clearly showed an event of the day: house +child +clover. I was lucky and had a quick, little visit at the house. A small opportunity that was unexpected good fortune. 

All in all, it was a really nice day and way to say goodbye for now to Devon County.  Next stop, Cornwall. I can't wait! 

deck featured: the Sepiafoto Lenormand by the very talented Kiki 

RAF 100th Annivesary and the Ace of Swords

I was quite pleased to have arrived in the U.K. the day before yesterday. It's a land I've grown quite fond of. It seems my arrival is in sync with some major celebrations here:

• Yesterday was the christening of the newest member of the royal family Prince Louis, 
• England is in the semi-finals in soccer/football after 28 long years
• Today marked the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force - RAF.

As a lover of things that fly and the armed services and our allies, I was seated front and center along side my friend Karen to watch the BBC's live coverage. There were thousands gathered in person to watch the impressive sum of 100 aircraft used in the flyover. It started with helicopters in the lead motoring along at about 100 MPH, which included Puma and Chinook, followed by about 20+ different types of aircraft - including the jewel of the 1940's, the Spitfire - and rounded out with aerobatic fighter jets rocketing by at 350 MPH!

That would be the crowning pride of the British air warriors, the Red Arrows. They are the Brits' answer to the incomparable precision and majesty of our Blue Angels. *puffs chest with pride* I adore the U.K., but I'm loyal to home first, in spite of the current situation in the White House.

Ok. Before this gets political on a space not suited for such things...

Let's talk about the Queen beaming with national pride!

Her Majesty was in fine form as she  looked on with the rest of the royal family, including the Duke and oh-so-lovely Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) as well as the Prince of Wales and the elegant Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) watching the procession in the sky soar over Buckingham Palace.

Above are the Typhoon fighter jets. Their sleek delta-wing design is a big part of what makes this aircraft extremely agile and great for dogfights in actual combat missions, not to mention incredibly sexy! I by no means have that much knowledgeable about military aircraft, but  I'd say these would be somewhat similar to  our own F-16 or F-22's.

The RAF has nine squadrons of Typhoons, and thus the individual  aircraft represents each of them. Three specific Squadrons are also celebrating their 100th anniversary and so they each have a unique design painted on their tails in honor of that. Unfortunately that could not be captured in my high quality, professional photos snapped while sitting on a couch watching the TV *shrugs with  laughter*

The center aircraft is painted to commemorate last year's 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. In short, that was the battle that prevented Nazi Germany from completely invading and taking the UK back in 1940. There are plenty of images on Google to see up close shots of these beautiful machines.

                                      

And of course the Red Arrows rounded out the festivities. Queen Elizabeth looks on, beaming with    pride as they released their trademark jet exhaust representing the colors of the Union Jack. 

Now as a tarot reader, to make this tarot-centric, the card that comes to mind is the Ace of Swords. On more than a few occasions I've seen this card represent an airplane, or those who work on them, especially when I was an active flight attendant. 

Also, in the tradition that I read cards, the suit of swords is connected with the element  of air as is shown in this version of the card with the beautiful, winged sylph adding her energy to this athame. The sleek shape and cold steel of the blade are so similar to an aircraft as it slices through the atmosphere and the rich blue cloth looks like a cloudless, clear blue sky that makes for perfect flying weather with no turbulence.  

The Ace of Swords is a card that is about a new opportunity to have clarity and focus and often times involves acts of courage in the face of adversity. It's about precision, razor-sharp instincts on one side of the blade that are equally matched with logic and attention to detail. It's a signal that there is no time or room for bullshit, so grab hold and cut through any you start or may find. It tells us to put ego aside and look at just the facts with honor, integrity and truth to the best of our ability.

Sounds exactly like the mindset needed to be a person working on an aircraft, especially a person in control of the machine and its precious contents and crew.

*deck featured - So Below Tarot by Barbara Moore

Cleanliness Is next to Godliness - Smudging with Frankincense and Lenormand Cards

 There's a reason that it is said that cleanliness is next to Godliness. I agree with the idea that keeping our physical space clean is important to our well being. But equally as important is keeping our spiritual environment cleansed as well, especially for those of us involved in esoteric dealings.

There are so many different methods of doing this, but one in particular is smudging.  Smudging is burning something that is known to have the properties of positive vibrations and and using the smoke that is produced to that end. Since smoke can penetrate even the tiniest of crevices, it's a fantastic method of cleansing.

Though I am prone to pulmonary issues, I love smudging. I just have to crack the windows for ventilation. All you need is a fire-safe container or incense burner, self-lighting charcoal (which in and of itself is cleansing), a lighter, and your choice of item to burn. There are so many things that can be used, a few of which include:

• Sage
• Sweetgrass
• Frankincense
• Myrrh
• Dragon's blood
• Palo santo 
• Charcoal
• Copal
• Benzion

A number of benefits can be gained from smudging:

• Known to banish negativity
• Invites positive energy
• Improved sleep
• Mental clarity
• Improves mood
• Clear stagnant energy
• A multitude of physical health benefits (sage in particular) according to some studies

One of my personal favorite items to use is frankincense. I've read that the first recorded use of it dates back over 6,000 years. The word is derived from the French words "franc encese" which means noble/pure/high quality incense", and it has long since been associated with royalty and divinity.

Frankincese was one of the gifts brought to the baby Jesus by the 3 Wise Men and was a favorite fragrance of the Queen of Sheba. It could definitely be described as a rich, woodsy, spicy, even sultry kind of a scent. I think it is either something one definitively likes or does not like. It's either your groove or it's not due to it's distinct aroma, you know what I mean? It is definitely one of my favorite fragrances.

It also brings back very fond memories of attending midnight mass with my Mother and Grandmother. Though I realized long ago that the Catholic faith was not for me, I still get comfort from many things associated with the religion including the sense of ritual and pageantry of Midnight Mass. Every time I light it, it  evokes feelings of peace and healing. But the burning of incense is used in many other faiths including:

• Voodoo/Vodou
• Islam
• Buddhism
• Santeria/Lucumi
• Hiduism

I love that Rana George feels so strongly about the importance of smudging that she added it to her gorgeous Rana George Lenormand. Lenormand decks traditionally have a total of 36 cards. She added 4 additional cards to her deck and Incense Burner is #38. The artist she worked with, Callie French,  did such an amazing job of illustrating an authentic, vintage Arabian mabkhara (incense burner). The fragrant smoke trickles from within the exquisite container and forms plumes that permeate the air while an ancient talisman, the Evil Eye, watches over the scene, bringing its protective energy that also clears negativity. A powerful combination indeed.

When this card comes up in a reading, it is a warning to cleanse your space of nasty, unwanted or toxic energy. I think it's a beautiful addition to the Lenormand.

If you don't regularly do so, give smudging a try and see what improvements to your mood and attitude you notice. I think you will be pleased by the results. And do remember that just like house cleaning the physical home, it must be done with some regularity  to see the benefits and for optimal results.

*featured deck - Rana George Lenormand
** and though it should go without saying, always use caution when lighting things on fire