Now is the perfect time to be still for a bit and listen for your inner voice - the Halloween and Samhain festivities have passed, and the busy times of Thanksgiving and Yule and still a week or more away. Take time now before you don't have time. Maybe go for a walk and collect things from your region to construct a meditative wreath/mandala.

Have you neglected your magic? Or your creative pursuits? Have you paid attention to the ancestors recently? It's easy to let ourselves get too busy to pay attention to these things, but they help create the magic in our lives. Take time for them today. Blessings, Thistle Four of Fire - Elder Make a little magic, stir up a special ceremony; holy helpers guide you and lend you power; honor the beings who guard the liminal spaces.

As someone who grew up picking berries from old-fashioned brambles, I can tell you this plant can be torture as well as sweet! Between the chiggers and the thorns, picking blackberries was something of a love-hate relationship. I loved the jelly and cobblers my mom made, but hated the bug bites and scratches that hounded me for days afterward. Sometimes we love something so much we don’t realize it’s hurting us.

Thyme is truly an amazing herb, for both medicinal and culinary uses. Today, it represents a warmth and opening - encouraging us to be open to creativity but in a shared, joyous way. Too often, artists of different kinds hide themselves away to create. Today, open the door and invite others to play, whether your creativity is painting, cooking, welding, or whatever!

Here in southeast Kansas, we are in the hardcore part of summer. We just came out of a rather hot streak (as did much of the country) and we currently have moderate 80s and drier air (this will change in a few days). Tomatoes are popping and the grass and garden beds need tending and watering. It's a hard time of year to seek the time to be alone to hear one's own voice, but that's what we have in today's card.

To know love is to know pain and grief. This is the duality of being a human who cares for others. Eventually, you will lose them whether it is by the hand of Death or by the hand of misunderstanding or changing personalities. Don't let things that you cannot control make you unhappy. Yes, mourn the passing of a life or relationship, but don't stay there.

Alright, so life took over my mornings the last two days (more on that in this weekend's journal entry), but I'm finally back with the card. I'm all up for gathering with those "charming gardeners who make our souls bloom." Tonight is board game night at a local cafe, and Saturday night is Full Moon Ritual with my hearth sisters. I think I'm set - how about you?

Our society tends to be a "ope, it broke - let's buy a new one" type of world. This was not always the case, and it's not necessarily a healthy mindset for us or the planet. When you use things around you rather than further exhausting shared resources, it's a benefit to all. When we care for and repair things, it not only saves resources, but can add a source of pride and confidence that we have the ability to keep things working.

Good Thursday morning! We follow yesterday's card that suggested slowing down and honoring changes with another card that suggest slowing down and using intuition to figure out which path is the right one to journey deeper into. The Sevens in this deck all represent visionary trees representing a deeper journey. Set the hurry mentality aside and take some time to dive deep into what you need to do, and how to avoid traps (illusions) that lead you down the wrong path.

I love this card, probably because I know how very true it is. Growing up in a home that embraced a lifestyle that's now become trendy as homesteading or hobby farming, we worked hard. We had a half-acre garden and canned or froze about eighty percent of our vegetables. We made jelly from apples and blackberries that grew on our property, kept chickens or eggs and turkeys for meat, split and stacked wood for the fireplace to supplement the downstairs gas heater, and other tasks many folks today have never had to do.

Today, we get a reminder that how we are going about things might need a spruce-up. Maybe we are stubbornly clinging to a concept of how to do something that isn't true. Maybe we ned a confidence boost to re-energize our efforts? Look to the bright and bold Bee Balm plant for inspiration. Blessings, Thistle Two of Fire - Bee Balm…

My apologies for the unannounced break from the cards. Mother's Day is usually a bit hard for me, but this year I was a bit depressed and it took a while to work through it. I was fortunate to have a warm and generous mother, one who seemed to know me better than I did at times. I was born on Mother's Day, so at this time of year I get a double reminder of how much I miss her.

Anyone else feeling the call of Beltaine with today and yesterday's cards? This one leans toward the shared community and joy in a relaxed, fun way that I often celebrate with the season. Oftentimes, I celebrate Beltaine with my Hearth sisters with a tea party, something my household did last year as well (and with a small Maypole in the backyard).

Thank you for your patience as I missed the last two days. Sometimes the morning get a little crazy and I run out of time, especially on treatment days. For the weekend's card, we have a sign to rest, relax, ease into whatever we've been learning, and to take care of ourselves. Sounds good to me. Blessings! Thistle Four of Air - Lavender…

This isn't a card you expect to see in spring, but while many of us honor endings, death, and ancestors in autumn, endings happen all the time. So don't hide from it - sometimes letting go is the most freeing and beautiful thing, even it it's bittersweet. Blessings, Thistle Death – Marigold Honor that which is passing; celebrate the beauty and fragility of life; welcome endings.

The Four cards in this deck are mostly about structure and limits. If there were ever a plant that needed a limit, it's mint! While its rapid growth and spreading via underground rhizomes can make it difficult to contain, these same things also give it great abundance. Remember to share that abundance and peaceful mint calm with others. Have a lovely Thursday!

This card is strong but calm. Rosemary is known for bringing mental clarity and better memory. Use the spirit of this plant to share an important story or some wisdom today. Blessings, Thistle Curandera of Air – Rosemary Adopt a story and pass it on; with pen, song or brush, tell your story; what is remembered lives A wild and unruly rosemary bush grows on the side of a garden shed.

My apologies for spacing on the last two days. It's spring break here, which means my significant other is off work and we were rolling on cleaning and outings before I even thought of the card! Thyme is a wonderful herb for cooking and healing. We often use it in steams for congestion. Today, it and the Madre of Fire are encouraging you to create in whatever form calls you.

We saw this card exactly two months ago, but it was pretty insistent on being today's card too. Clearly, we still need more rest and recovery in some form or another. Or for some, a respite from anxiety. Admittedly, my sleep has been uneven the past week despited being rather tired every night. May we all get the healing rest and peace we need.

As many of our rights and ways of life are under attack, this is a timely card. To help explain the importance of the fire cider in the card description, I repeat the message I added before: To nonherbalists, this card’s description with so much emphasis on fire cider may seem odd. It is not. A few years ago, four herbalists went to federal court…

The "illusion of knowledge" part of the card description really hits home, doesn't it? Oftentimes, we think we know something, but may discover that what we know is limited or dependent upon a certain circumstance that not all share. Keeping an open mind and a kind heart are important parts of gaining clarity. Blessings, Thistle Seven of Air – Eucalyptus…

With its ability to bloom in winter, Witch Hazel proves a tree of this liminal season where we are still in winter but seeing signs of spring. While many days during the Imbolc season suggest recharging and giving yourself time, this pick encourages us to use our skills and pursue joy today. Something may blossom from it even in this wintry season.

All the Madre cards in this deck speak to guidance and love. This one is about clearly communicating (from air, that's no surprise) needs and what needs to be done. She strikes the balance between curtness and humor to soften it. What do you need to make clear for yourself? To others in your life? Do not mince words today - say what you need to say.

It's a good time to reflect on how to adapt to new situations and changes in the world. Cattails manage to pop up in ditches as swell as wetlands and swamps, live in fresh or brackish water, spread by both seeds and rhizomes, and will release a toxin that prevents overpopulation of its own species. Take a few tips from this highly adaptable and helpful plant and learn to live when the dominoes don't fall exactly how you want them to.

Running late today, but it's a snow day here so we slept in a bit and made pumpkin pancakes. I also watched the birds by the feeder for a while before doing anything this morning. Cardinal pair wait to get to the bird feeder. Interestingly, after getting Chamomile yesterday, we get Valerian today - both known for aiding in sleep and calmness.