Heathens, Pagans and Witches discussion

Sometimes the strange and mysterious workings of Stunning Synchronicity, Dame Fortune, the Fates, and Gods and Goddesses known and unknown come together and something happens. So... I thought I'd start a thread for members to post their own experiences - either recent or long remembered.

To start the thread I've copied this one from my GR blog (sadly lapsed, due to the demands of Life). It happened last year.

I'm not a true collector of tarot decks, as I only seek out those whose artwork attracts me. For a long time time now I've been drawn to The Greenwood Tarot: Pre-Celtic Shamanism of the Mythic Forest and the mystical artwork of Chesca Potter, but it's long out of print and I've never held out much hope of finding one. Seeing it mentioned here on Goodreads brought it wistfully to mind again, but it seemed as far out of reach as ever.

But...

As my husband was going out of the front door this morning for his weekly tour of the car boot sale, I called out to him to look out for a Greenwood for me.

A few hours later he came back and handed me ('Oh, by the way, I bought you these...') a bag containing a few well-used tarots. This is not an uncommon event, and I love these surprises. I could see the Druid Animal Oracle at the top, but I already have one of those, and laughed quietly to myself at the thought that it would take some sort of magic to find a Greenwood at the bottom of the bag.

Under the large oracle set I found a Goddess Tarot and the Arthurian, both slightly battered, but complete.

And below these, right at the bottom of the bag was a precious Greenwood, sans box, well-used and loved but all present and correct and attached to its book by a black ribbon...!

I cried.

Great new thread, Nell. :)

I'm really looking forward to reading about others' experiences - fingers crossed. BTW, why do we cross our fingers? Must google that later...

Sometimes we are given our heart's desire, and it's a beautiful experience when the universe intervenes. I can't say that such an experience for me comes immediately to mind, though I have often found my life to be full of synchronicities. I look forward to reading the experiences of others as well.

It's funny, but the arrival of the Greenwood seems to have cleared the last vestiges of desire for things - even books to a great extent. I'm no longer willing to spend a lot on a single tome, but tend to search for alternatives or browse through Sacred Texts, a great resource. The well-being of those closest to me uses up all desire these days.

I do understand that Nell. I've entered something of a minimalist phase myself, and am busy cleaning out many of the books and other possessions that I know I'll never either re-read or use again. It's time to move such things on to those who are ready for them.

Sacred Texts is a great source, and I use it all the time. They have an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian material which is my area of scholarly interest.

And yes, much of my energy and healing skills are going to those whom I love.

I'm keeping a synchronicity journal and keeping my eye on totem plant (wisteria) and animals (blue eyed dogs) and insect (dragonfly). I make my living as a fundraiser and these omens show up before major great news. It's fun to keep a diary, because at least for me, I seem to forget, or shut out, these splendid examples during drought periods and the diary helps keep me focused, cheerful and full of hope and wonder.

That's a great idea, Kathryn - it's amazing how conscious awareness helps us live a life full of magical potential, even if on the surface it seems mundane.

Kathryn wrote: "I'm keeping a synchronicity journal and keeping my eye on totem plant (wisteria) and animals (blue eyed dogs) and insect (dragonfly). I make my living as a fundraiser and these omens show up befor..."

What a good idea! One of my power animals is the hawk, and I often have hawk sightings before significant happenings. I often wish I'd written them down. And this gives me the idea to add these sightings to the journal I already keep. Thanks.

Sara wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I'm keeping a synchronicity journal and keeping my eye on totem plant (wisteria) and animals (blue eyed dogs) and insect (dragonfly). I make my living as a fundraiser and these ome..."


i was surprised and, most of all, heartened.

What a fascinating experiment. I'm actually jealous, that I haven't found my animal. I love that you revere the blue eyed dogs.

Aaron wrote: "What a fascinating experiment. I'm actually jealous, that I haven't found my animal. I love that you revere the blue eyed dogs."

The power animal is on its way. Your desire for its appearance would not have come into your consciousness if this was not in the wings. Remember, you get what you think about, whether you want it or not. Contact with nature helps in my experience!

How do u find out what your animal, insect, and plant are?

I'm taking all of this in and I'm in awe.

Not sure this is precisely what you're looking for here, Nell, but this is an experience I had a few years back and wrote about in another venue. This meant a great deal to me at the time, and continues to remind me not to be so narrowly focused on the grindstone and my nose against it:

In the evenings, I pause in my chores to take the cat on a supervised trip into the back yard. I love to feel the wind in my face, listen to the birds, watch the gloaming slowly overtake the leaves of trees and plants, golden and syrup-rich. It’s serene, one of the few things in my life right now that fills me up rather than takes away.

So as I sat in my serene place last night, I thought—mostly in a peaceful way—about letting go of so many layers of things. Letting go of fears, letting go of needless guilt and worry, of giving it up to the inexorable ebb and flow of the universe. Not give up on life, you understand. Still in there, still fighting the good fight, just reconciling myself to the fact that the universe will always have its way in the end, no matter what I or anyone else does. What I needed, what I need, is to give up the illusion of control, to make peace with that.

We’re none of us helpless flotsam in the grand old river of the universe. I truly believe things travel along with us, keeping us in the free-flowing stream as long as possible, as much as possible. Little markers of hope and fellow-feeling, sometimes larger things that buffer and stand guard. At times, the smallest things can bring the largest upwelling of hope, allowing us to float free. I don’t know what these things are, where they come from, wouldn’t care to define them in narrow human terms, but they are there as long as we allow them to be. We can’t be protected forever. Nothing can be. Sometimes we’re going to smash into rocks, sometimes we’re going to dip below the surface. Sometimes, when the time has come, we’re going to drown. It’s the nature of the journey. It’s easy to be philosophical about all this when I’m in my serene place. Difficult when I’m having trouble treading water.

From the perspective of my usual chair last night I tried to think of some better way of treading water. I wondered if, along with the illusion of control, I also had an illusion of receiving help along the way. I looked at a patch of ground near the bird bath where a few days ago I’d moved a brick that had been overgrown with moss. I saw a little face, tilted to the side, peering back at me from the fringe of the moss, just before the precipice where the brick had nestled. One little arm was raised as if she swam hard against the pushing tide of moss. I was far enough away to wonder if she might be an optical illusion, a trompe l’oeil composed of bits of leaf matter, blossoms, and hope.

I got up and drew close. There was a face, and a tiny arm, a small ceramic figurine lodged into the ground. When I pulled her out I saw she was a little fairy maiden, sitting on a leaf, resting one elbow on a thimble while the other, the one she’d been swimming with, rested on air where she’d broken off something. She had quite an Alice in Wonderland quality to her face, but I don’t recall ever owning a piece of garden ceramic with such a whimsical girl. I’d swear she hadn’t been there when I moved the brick. My hand was right there two days ago, but I didn’t remember seeing her. Clearly, she’d nestled amongst the moss a while because she was partly embedded in the soil, leaving a hollow when I pulled her free. The moss had surrounded her as it had the brick. Perhaps I’d been too distracted at the time and hadn’t noticed her, or…

I looked up at the faces hanging on the garden wall. Flora and Ivy smiled serenely back at me. Green Man looked grumpy, as always, but I wouldn’t absolutely swear there wasn’t a twinkle in his eyes. Probably the gloaming. Magic things always happen in the heavy, rich light of twilight.

Truly amazing, Minsma.

Aaron wrote: "Truly amazing, Minsma."

Thank you, Aaron.

Truly beautiful, Minsma - thanks so much for your memorable post - it has made my day lovely already, and it's only 7.24am :)

Hi, Nell. Nice to meet you.:)

And you, Aaron :)

Nell wrote: "Truly beautiful, Minsma - thanks so much for your memorable post - it has made my day lovely already, and it's only 7.24am :)"

Ah! Thank you. I enjoyed your post immensely, too.

Just lovely Minsma! :):)

Little wrote: "Just lovely Minsma! :):)"

Thanks! :-D