Voyager--Nine of Worlds--Harvest

[lunakasha]

From the Voyager LWB:

Like the full moon which has completed its cycle, fall symbolizes completion of your work. The fruits of your labor are ripe for harvesting; it is time to reap what you have contemplated (winter), sown (spring) and nurtured (summer). You've got enough and you've done enough, gather it together, package it and take it to the marketplace. Believe in the value of what you have produced. Don't undersell yourself. Harvest completions provide you the material wherewithal and insurance--like nuts gathered by the squirrel--for inactive periods and winters of austerity. Think ahead. Unfinished projects and incomplete affairs are like fallen fruit that putrefies and stagnates. The garbage holds you back from moving forward into the spring of new beginnings.



The beautiful colours of autumn.....season of harvest.....the green leaves of summer turn to brilliant shades of orange, crimson and gold before finally withering to dust and falling to the ground. This is the end of the life cycle of the trees; they will remain gaunt and skeletal during the winter months, only to be reborn again in the spring.

The squirrels and chipmunks are busily harvesting food for the winter; their medicine is preparation and organization....planning wisely for the future. The spherical objects in this card remind me of the cyclical nature of the trees: from bud to bloom to vibrant colour and, finally, death or hibernation during winter. The seasonal changes are significant in that they also represent the constant phases that we experience in life; that during the "harvest" times, as we prepare for major changes, we must remember that in order to experience the wonders of renewal and rebirth....we must first be willing to endure the pain, the withering of one way of life in making way for the new.

This card is significant to me, personally, for several reasons. First of all, because the 9 of Pentacles is my personal significator card. It represents to me the satisfaction of being independent, successful and with enough material wealth to be able to fully appreciate the pleasures of life. This particular version of the 9 of Pentacles is even more appealing to me because if represents the colourful and magickal feeling of autumn...which has always been my favourite time of year!

Luna

 

[Namaste]

in order to experience the wonders of renewal and rebirth....we must first be willing to endure the pain, the withering of one way of life in making way for the new.

I step into this world, where the planets appear in orderly procession, the squirrels chatter and scamper at my feet, and I am showered with baskets.

I am first reminded of the story of the cricket and the ants. The cricket who sang and enjoyed himself without a care in the world; who even admonished the ants for being so serious and so industrious, yet when the winter came upon the land, it was they who fared far better than he did.

I am also reminded that although I must prepare for the more difficult moments that may come, I must share whatever abundance I may have gathered.

Yes, we must be prepared to endure the pain for transformation to take place; that if we are not willing to endure pain, we will never know joy. Harvesting is not without its difficulties and burdens; burdens that can be made lighter if we share them. All who reap together have earned the right to celebrate together.

I ask myself. Why all these baskets? Is it that they were used to carry the offerings of nature - the first fruits produced by the land in which they were grown (read our efforts)?

Are they more akin to the cista mystica of classical mythology, where a sacred snake was carried? Snakes: the bearers of wisdom, with their affinity for water, without which there can be no harvest? Snake as the hidden challenge/pain that must be borne, as you say, Lunakasha, to make way for the new?

Are the baskets representations of the Pawnee (North American Central Plains) Basket Woman who is the mother of the moon and the stars, and gives permission for the creation of the earth? A reminder that if we thank spirit, we must also be mindful of the earth that nurtures and sustains us.

How would all this be useful in our personal lives? Perhaps this particular Voyager world encourages us, not only to prepare and not procrastinate, but also to nurture ourselves, so we can reap the harvest of self-fulfilment.

 

[mooncat2]

9 Worlds - a material card, an Earth card, Nature.

Autumn - here in the Southern Hemisphere it is Autumn now.

Join me, for today I have decided to journey , a voyage into my garden as the end of the day nears, my card in my hand. I shall wander and ramble! too, I suspect. How beautiful it is , this 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'

I am an Autumn child, born as the sun began to set one early March day. It is my favorite time of the year - I love the colors. wear the colors - green, gold, yellow, brown and crimson.
The cycle of the year is coming to a close - my feet rustle through the fallen leaves. I think of the cycles of my life that have passed - I am indeed in the autumn of my life and there have been a few cycles! I remember the hard work, the sacrifices, the steady progress that now allows us to call this beautiful place ours. The raising of our children , the joys and the sorrows, the new generation of grandchildren. I see that it is the sorrows and the difficult times that are the true gifts of life for it's from them we grow in strength and courage.
I give thanks for all that I have been blessed with. It is my time to reap the material rewards of my life and I do but it is not completion.

As each cycle ends we begin another - in the dying of the old is sown the seeds of the new. I lean against an old tree - feel her strength and wisdom, feel the connection. Her lower branches shelter and nurture but her upper ones reach towards the sky. She never stops growing and neither should we.

I reflect on squirrels - hoarding away their caches of nuts. What is my cache? A lifetime of experience that is not to be hoarded but brought out and used to help others.
The full Moon glows gold - I walk in her light and she shows me gifts I never knew I had.

What are the baskets for ? Lovely intricate designs - much love and effort has gone into their completion. Oh dear, I think of all the projects I begin with enthusiasm and then leave unfinished. Small things that lie around in the back of cupboards , useless because they've never been completed.

If I open the gate in the white fence I venture into new territory, a new voyage - I am reminded to not confine myself but to keep reaching out - too inclined to the solitary life I must go places, meet people , keep learning and experiencing.

The evening draws closer, ther's a chill in the air and I return indoors.....a fire to be lit. I look at my garden - it needs attention , some loving care before it's winter sleep.

The responsibility for these ramblings is Namastes with her talk of gardens and flowers!!

Blessings

 

[Namaste]

Join me, for today I have decided to journey , a voyage into my garden as the end of the day nears.

...

Oh dear, I think of all the projects I begin with enthusiasm and then leave unfinished. Small things that lie around in the back of cupboards, useless because they've never been completed.

The responsibility for these ramblings is Namastes with her talk of gardens and flowers!!

And what a beautiful voyage through the garden of your life that was, dear Carol! Thank you... Thank you, both.

I, who find myself close to the Autumn of my life, cannot boast of children, nor even of a planted garden; only perhaps of the gardens I hope I planted in those I teach.

The scene you describe, Carol, of an autumnal evening touches me, and I am filled with melancholy. Not regret, but the knowledge that life will all come to a close some day, only to restart again in a different incarnation.

Both of you remind me that some flourish young, some only in the middle years. What is important, perhaps, is that all of us can say we are able to harvest something of value from our lives..., this time around.

As to those unfinished projects... How well I can relate to that! LOL So much still to do, so much left undone...

 

[Namaste]

May the autumnal light illumine your days of repose and enjoyment during your two weeks' holiday, Carol.

I look forward to the continuation of our voyage upon your return.