Strength in the Shadows

Today's cards cover the energy of today and yesterday, as I didn't get to do a daily draw yesterday. I was trying to get some of my online work completed and Firefox kept crashing. I have tried everything but it is still crashing, have sent in reports but doubt I will hear anything. It's been happening constantly for the past 4 days, on many different sites. So.... I shall have to try either Chrome or Safari. Just checked and woohoo... I can get the Evernote Web Clipper for both these browsers :) I *LOVE* Evernote!

I feel very connected to the messages on today's two cards. From The Faerie's I drew Lys of the Shadows, and from Tarot of the Sweet Twilight I got Strength.

Lys of the Shadows, is a true light in the darkness, one of the Sidhe, whose energies can be used for good or for negative purposes. We as humans have the choice of how we use this assistance. The light coming from this faeries' person is gentle warming and healing.... which would give us a clue of the right way, but the Fey do not judge... free will is all, even when it goes wrong. All we can do is to shine a light on the right path, by example.

According to the book by Jessica Macbeth Lys of the Shadows appears when someone is ready to be healed... a lost soul to be found. Lys gets down among the needy folk and is not afraid to get her wings torn or her hands dirty, even though it may hurt her sometimes. In this instance I believe that I am being given the energy I need to help another soul in this world, whom I had almost given up on, to find the path back to who they were, before they got lost in the darkness. It feels far too big a job for me, but maybe I can help.  I feel this is how it is. I feel honored to have drawn this card today, when thoughts like this were already in my mind. I need that energy. Let me use it with the wisdom of the Fey. Thanks Faeries.

Lys of the Shadows - Faeries' Oracle, and Strength - Tarot of the Sweet Twilight

Strength from Tarot of the Sweet Twilight is the most wonderful card.... I think my favourite strength card so far. It has so many dimensions and truly conveys the meaning of strength as I see it. A woman faces a lion with his mouth open, teeth bared, she holds her mask away from her face so she is showing him her true self, her very inner being. Only when we are most ourselves, without pretense or pride can we be truly strong. Strength comes from a place deep within us, where the light is great enough to outshine fear, if we let it come through. So often I hear people who talk only through their Ego, not from who they really are, and I feel sad. It must be true bondage to be afraid to be you.

There is what looks like a very old stone Goddess figure in the background of this card, she carries two pots in perfect balance. She is the background, the roots of the strength of this female who looks into the eyes of fear without flinching. The strength of the female is in gentleness, not attack, in standing steadfast in the light of who you truly are. The Goddess shows the strength of women throughout time, the balance of energy. This wasn't achieved by trying to be like men, but by balancing their energies with ours. It seems so much of this wisdom has become lost in today's world.

One more character in this amazing card is Yoda ..the ancient wise Jedi Master from Star Wars. He appears here as an origami figure... another symbol of strength, the deceptive strength of paper, and a message that being small of stature is no judge of your true strength. The quotes below, from Yoda, all have a message relating to both the Strength card and Lys of the Shadows.

To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not. In this war, the danger there is, of losing who we are.

When you look at the dark side, careful you must be..... for the dark side looks back.

To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose.  Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night.

The Jedi use light sabres as their weapons, to cast light onto the dark, it all just goes so well with these two cards and their messages. It really feels like they came up at the exact right time, just when I needed to hear this advice.

These two cards also strongly relate to something else that has changed in my life too. Especially the shadowy side of Lys, which is bondage and addiction. I used to drink almost every day, maybe a glass of wine, maybe a bottle, or a beer or two... never heavy stuff but escape all the same. The past couple of months, not only have I not wanted to drink, I haven't been able to! It makes me feel nauseous and very unwell, depressed and out of control of my life. I just don't need to escape from my life right now... gotta be good!