Sleeping Gypsy…

Animals Divine Tarot

As many of you have already noticed, whales are in the news today, but not on account of anything good that has happened. On the contrary, a tragedy has happened at Sea World Orlando in the unfortunate death of one of their top trainers, Dawn Brancheau. For a more detailed accounting, please visit HERE to familiarize yourself with this sad story.

Sad. Sad in many ways. Sad because the whale is being blamed and talk of his euthanasia is being volleyed about, when it is clear that this whale was clearly not at fault. In fact, as I type these words with the news on I have just heard that Dawn had actually laid down in the water with this whale when it was common knowledge within this park and among the employees/trainers that this whale was not safe to be laying in the water with and that such a practice was clearly forbidden. What was Dawn thinking? I can understand that her love of the animal may have caused her to toss caution out the window, but had she thought ahead, she might have realized that sometimes we cannot let our love for animals put them or ourselves in danger. Common sense has to be at the forefront of animal welfare, especially where wild animals in captivity are concerned.

Just this morning, Patricia Cori started a news feed thread on Face book about working to get wild animals – especially whales – out of captivity and back where they belong…in the wild. I like her ideas and feel we should follow her lead and work at trying to get all wild animals back into their natural habitat. I ask and encourage you to visit her page and get involved in any way that you can. You can sign a petition HERE.

Tillikum

Bill Hemmer on FOX News this morning made a profound observation: that Tillikum = $$$. He is a breeder that has given Sea World 13 offspring since his captivity at their facility. And isn’t that the way most of these things go? Dollar signs always hold sway over everything else.  They are saying that Tilly may not survive in the wild and that a supported release might be the answer, but excuses are already being made. Again, money may be at the root of this mindset, as I feel there really is no excuse to keep wild animals in captivity, except for maybe to try and save an endangered species, and then it is questionable.

If you take a peek back in history, captive animals were a form of entertainment in an era of no other sensations, such as TV or movies. Captive animals were a cash cow back then as people lead boring lives and craved entertainment. Dancing bears, freak show oddities, circus animals were a big draw and meant big bucks for their owners/trainers/handlers. In this day and age, I don’t see why we need to retain this attitude. What with computer graphics, documentaries and such, the circus-like venue is not needed and is in fact outdated. Isn’t it time to move on?

I guess what really bothers me the most is that whenever a captive wild animal lashes out after having reached their limit of patience is that people always blame the animal. A kid gains entry into a tiger’s enclosure and teases and tortures a tiger and is consequently maimed and/or killed and they lash out at the tiger and kill it. An elderly chimpanzee attacks a neighbor, ripping off her face and hands, and they blame the chimp and kill him. Now this. Makes me ill that these animals – the original victims – are used as scapegoats to avoid any sort of culpability, especially when faced with changing established protocols that hit the wallet first and foremost. To heck with the safety of the public. And to heck with the torture and unhappiness of the poor animals. The dollar rules and nothing has changed. Man put these animals into captivity and it is man that is to blame.

My heart goes out to Dawn’s family, friends and loved ones. I pray for their comfort and healing.

Please do what you can…sign petitions, write letters, join online groups, call your representative or speak out. But don’t just blow this issue off and ignore it. Until we put wild animals back into the wild, this sort of thing will happen again and again. And believe me…you don’t have to be a psychic to see that this is true.

To see the Whale on the Ten of Cups in the Animals Divine tarot by Llewellyn really warms my heart and the irony is not lost on me. The Ten of Cups is the epitome of love, caring and the family dynamic. A happily ever after card. As a totem animal, the whale begs one to find their soul’s purpose and to remain true to one’s life path.

To find out more about animal totems and shamanism, click HERE.

Namaste…

The Shaman ~ Tarot of Origins

It’s funny how more and more synchronicity shows itself and makes itself known in one’s life the more aware one is of it’s existence. After studying and reading works of C.G.Jung over the past few years, I have found myself noticing more how things are really all related.

For instance, because of a location move that I will be making soon, I have been very busy lately making arrangements to get from here to there. If any of you have ever relocated across the country (this is my second time, the first being from California to Michigan), you know how timing and planning is tantamount to a successful move. True, it’s very hard to cover all of the bases, but by golly! we sure do try!  Anyway, while on the phone with a friend discussing which moving van company to go with – Budget or Penske – a Budget van goes cruising by my front window! (I subsequently went with Penske…heheh

Or one day last week I was driving around on a particularly beautiful and rare sunny day, the bright white new snow that lay everywhere practically blinded me, so I donned my sunglasses which are prescription. They are somewhat out of style,  their shape is quite thin, letting in a lot of unwanted light from the top of the lenses. I say to myself, “…I need to think about getting a new pair. I should save up these next few weeks and get some before spring gets here.” Got home. Got the mail. And there in the mail was a $100 off coupon for Rx sunglasses! This kind of stuff happens to me all the time.

Recently I have discovered some interesting reading material in the form of books written by Jim Pathfinder Ewing. They delve into shamanism, journeying  and healing in the Native American tradition. This is extremely interesting to me and  hits close to the heart, as I have Chocktaw blood running through my veins from my mother’s side of the family. It is suspected that this branch of my family  is where my intuitive nature  is passed down through to me and my two children. So, discovering Jim’s work is like finding a long lost cousin.

Last night before bed I was checking out the news on CNN and the sweat lodge story really caught my eye.  As the details unfolded as to what actually happened in that sweat lodge the day those three people died & others became very ill because of someones negligence, I felt great sorrow for that whole situation. How could such a thing happen and at such a cost. I thought to myself, “Oh boy…this is gonna give Sedona a black eye for sure.” Add to that how people who scoff at New Age beliefs and ideas or alternative ways of thinking, believing and healing, are going to tear into this like a mad dog &\and rip it to shreds. Oh brother.

Every morning I have what I call my quiet time, with whatever book I am reading in one hand and a hot cup of coffee in the other. I open the book at the bookmark that I set yesterday about this same time and what are the first words I read at the top of the page?

…”The Sweat Lodge.”

I heard an interesting thing on the morning CNN news. The piece started out with this statement: “Reports are saying that Avatar, the movie, is anti-religion and anti-military.” I raised an eyebrow.

I find this statement interesting. For one, I smirk and almost resent that anyone would say such a goofy thing!  The news commentator went on to say that James Cameron defended his latest movie as “spiritual” and not necessarily having anything to do with religion, to which I wholeheartedly agree. I find it typical and somewhat disgusting that mainstream religious rights and lefts would point a finger at what this movie is – a call to be more spiritual and aware of our Mother Earth  and more sensitive to everything around us, especially people. Just like the hubbub that went on when Harry Potter first arrived on the scene, calling it pagan and anti-religious just for the fact that it had an air of the  otherworldly about it. Spells and brooms and potions, oh my! Heaven forbid!

It just really bugs me when this sort of thing happens.

The commentators went on to say that $10,000,000 in revenue speaks very loudly to the fact that people love this movie, its message and connect with it in a big way, something the Christian Churches (especially those who’s head master is stationed in Rome!) must find disturbing, when one takes into account all of those $dollar signs$ that are supporting such a “pagan” flavour.

They interviewed two people on the street. The first one, when asked what he thought about this latest sentiment, said, “I think it is anti-overly religious and overly-military.” Another person, a young Asian lady, commented, “I just think it is an over the top sensory stimulation. Nothing ant-anything about it.” So, there you have it. The folks on the street really are not the ones finding this movie “over-anything.” So…who is it that is behind these statements anyway?

Facts are facts. I read a poll not too long ago that said that people were stepping back away from organized religion and wetting their appetites for enlightenment on a more individual and spiritual path, which does my heart good. People are waking up to their own feelings, their own sensitivities and their own spirituality and beginning to realize that they don’t really need a huge religion in back of them to find their way to a higher source. Don’t get me wrong. I am not out against big and/or organized religion as a whole or for people to find comfort and/or camaraderie behind it. Sometimes that is just their style. I just don’t think that these same religions should cast stones at others who don’t wish to follow the same path as they do. It’s like…”your way is right as long as it is just like my way.” Intolerance.  NOT what Jesus would do.

What comes to my mind is an episode of SpongeBob Squarepants that my grand daughter and I were watching one time. Mr. Crabs had just sold out his diner, the Crusty Crab,  to a big restaurant chain to be pounded and molded into a clone of what they already had going as a national chain of high profile and highly recognizable restaurants. Mr. Crabs sold out and  retired, but the rest of the staff stayed on, as they still needed jobs. Of course, as with all big conglomerates, they have their quirks, like the acronyms and the employee manuals to keep everyone brainwashed, under control and in line. After a while, the staff started getting sick and tired of being told what to think and how to fee, (…yeah, this is a kids show! and soon they began to revolt. The little peon manager was seen to be running through the restaurant screaming at the top of his lungs, “FREE THINKER! FREE THINKER!!!”    This is what the Avatar flap I heard on the boob toob this morning reminds me of. I am glad they ran the story. I am hoping that a lot of other folks out there feel the same way about it as I do.

Although, my partner has another spin on it. He says that the reason they are trying to tear down the movie and cast doubt is because of the fact that it is up for Best Picture. Ha!  He’s probably right. There’s always something. He always keeps me grounded.

Otsego business owner charged with misdemeanor under ordinance that bans fortunetelling for money.

By Chuck Parker | Kalamazoo Gazette

January 07, 2010, 9:00AM

OTSEGO —The owner of a new business in downtown Otsego thought she had a way to get around a 93-year-old city ordinance that prohibits psychic readings for money. But police allege Melissa Lesterhouse and a part-time employee still managed to violate the ordinance. Late last month, Otsego Police Chief Gordon Konkle issued misdemeanor citations against them for allegedly charging an Otsego undercover officer $15 for a psychic reading at the store, Bewitching Wares. Lesterhouseand the part-time employee, Jacqueline Hayes, 47, of Kalamazoo, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Allegan County District Court before Judge Joseph Skocelas. Lesterhouse, 35, of Plainwell, told a reporter that the fortune-telling sting was a waste of taxpayers’ money. Konkle said officers were doing their job enforcing the law. The fine for doing a psychic reading for money, a misdemeanor, is $500 and/or up to 90 days in jail. Lesterhouse, who uses the name Carli Ray for her business, was cited because she owns the business and she rang up the bill that charged the officer for the reading, according to an Otsego police report. Hayes, a psychic who works part time for Lesterhouse, gave the reading to the officer, police said. Lesterhouse, in an interview in November for an earlier story, said she had found a way around the ordinance by offering psychic readings for free when a client purchased a massage for $30. That arrangement was explained to part-time Otsego police officer Amy Voogt, who was working undercover when she visited Bewitching Wares for the first time Dec. 16 to look around and ask about its services. Voogt however asked if she could just get just the reading because she wasn’t comfortable getting a massage, her report said. Three days later, Hayes gave Voogt — who had a tape recorder and a microphone in her purse — a reading and afterward asked her if she would like a massage, but Voogt refused, the report said. Konkle cited Lesterhouse on Dec. 22 and Hayes the following day when she returned to work. Lesterhouse, whose name was previously Melissa Cronin-Warfield, was the woman at the center of a flubbed prostitution sting in 2003 by the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team. She was never arrested in the case, which ultimately resulted in changes at the top of the command structure of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, which runs KVET. In 2008, she remarried and changed her name to Lesterhouse.

* * * * * * * * *

I. The Magician ~ The Goddess Tarot

Carli Ray managed to dig up this article shortly after “the BIG BUST” at her new New Age shop in Otsego. It was posted on MLIVE.COM not too long after the incident. I am still incredulous even after all this time has passed. Every time i think about what happened and what they are doing to her it just makes my hackles stand straight up on end! Please follow the link above and check out the article. It has some interesting commentary to go along with it. This article used to be published out in plain site but has now been buried in a “Quiz” page. Convenient, ay?

I have a few comments to make about this whole thing. Firstly, the original attention given to Carli when she initially opened her store (see previous blog post) is interesting. When this article first came to light we at the shop all thought it was amusing. They have to be kidding, right? Carli welcomed the publicity because it is a joke that such a law exists on the books anywhere still. But I have been wondering about the motives behind the reasons why they ran this article in the first place. Was it because it is a laughing joke that there would be laws like this still in existence and that anyone would have to worry about being persecuted in the twenty-first century for what is basically a throw back to the Salem Witch Trials? Or was this attention used to get the dander up of some of the more uninformed (read “ignorant”) people that reside in this backwater Podunk town? It really makes me wonder now…

Secondly, bringing up all this back history is good for drama’s sake on the part of those wanting to run Carli out of town, but is it legal? I am thinking…NOT. What does any of what they try to intimidate her with have to do with a 100 year old law on the books that is used to foster malcontent, prejudice and fear in the public at large? Carli should sue the crap out of the City of Otsego for slander and violating her civil liberties. She should put the ACLU on speed dial! For God/dess sake…what is the matter with these people?

Thirdly, with all the pedophiles and child molesters, drug runners, murderers, sex offenders and what-have-you running around these days, why are these law enforcement people picking on Carli? Are they afraid to go after REAL bad guys and just feel safer messing with a girl in her little new age store? What is up with that? I just don’t get it.

Fourthly, by dredging up the past concerning alleged prostitution issues, what are they really trying to say? By putting this out there, they are trying to make it look like Carli is running a brothel out of her new age store! ARG!!! I would dare say that if anyone were trying to run an illegal activity out of a store front, they would not use a new age theme in a hick town like Otsego and expect it to go unnoticed! Now, if i were going to do such a thing, I would have to open up either a John Deere dealership or a feed store type of thing if I was going to try and go incognito. People please. Give me a break.

The latest scoop is that Carli is due in court on the 25th of January for pre-trial. She and her attorney have requested a jury trial for this matter. From what Carli tells me, the whole court room is in titters and giggles over this. I am glad they find it amusing, and hopefully they will drop the charges and let this poor woman get on with her life. Let’s all send some healing thoughts and prayers her way, shall we?

Thank you so much for your interest in this issue. I will keep you posted on any further developments.

Bewitching Wares owner Carli Lesterhouse provides services that include massage therapy, psychic readings, channeling and dietary consultation at her new Otsego business located at 128 E. Allegan St.

Chuck Parker Special to Hometown Gazette

OTSEGO — When psychic Carli Lesterhouse, whose professional name is Carli Ray, arranged to rent space in downtown Otsego for her business, Bewitching Wares, she didn’t foresee a hurdle that a 93-year-old city ordinance would put in her path.

The ordinance, listed under “miscellaneous offenses,” does not allow a person to “tell or pretend to tell fortunes by person, machine or otherwise for hire, gain, reward or profit, whether by means of cards, tokens, trances, inspection of the hands or skull, mind reading, consulting the movements of the heavenly bodies, or otherwise.”

The cities of Plainwell, Allegan and Kalamazoo have similar ordinances on the books.
Michigan historian Larry Massie said the ordinance was first passed in the village of Otsego on May 1, 1916.

Fortunetellers — who were often, but not always, gypsies — were lumped with those considered disorderly people such as hobos, gamblers and loiterers who traveled from town to town, Massie said. The fine for a violation was up to $50, a month’s pay for paper-mill workers at that time, or as much as 90 days in jail, he said.

Today the fine is $500 and/or up to 90 days in jail.

Undaunted by the ordinance, Lesterhouse conjured up a lawyer, who told her she can stay within the law by offering her clients readings for free while charging them for the healing services she provides, she said.

Lesterhouse said she is a certified massage therapist trained by the Blue Heron Academy of Healing Arts and Sciences. She said she also is certified to provide counseling for eating disorders and clinical nutrition, to use biochemic tissue salts or minerals for healing, to provide herbal medicinal counseling and to teach various forms of meditation.

Lesterhouse said she also is an ordained minister and considers psychic reading to be a spiritual practice.

“I get readings so strong that I have to turn it off so I don’t get headaches,” Lesterhouse said.

She also serves as a medium.

“I get a lot of people who want to talk to deceased loved ones,” Lesterhouse said.

At her store, she sells an array of wands, candles and other items. The store is closed on Mondays.

***

The photo above is that of my dear friend, Carli Ray. I met her at the Subtle Energies Spirit Fair about a year ago and we became fast friends. We have so much in common and she is such a kindred spirit! She is a good and kind person, and is very talented and gifted and truly cares about others. We have such a great time whenever we get together!

When she asked me early last fall if I would like to do readings at her new store in Otsego, Michigan, I felt honoured that she would ask and didn’t think twice when I told her that I would love to! We both share the same philosophy that the good will of New Age beliefs should be shared and brought to the public for the enlightenment of everyone, and that gifted folks should work together in sharing their gifts with each other and those of the public who show an interest in such things esoteric. So, when I received the call last weekend that there had been an issue at the shop and the nature of said issue…well…I was dumbstruck!

Seems a woman came into the store and asked for a reading from another very talented and awesome reader named Jaque’. She wanted a tarot reading but declined the above mentioned healing while all the while acting very peculiar. Jaque’ thought the woman was just anxious about getting a reading. She treated her with extreme kindness.

The next day a police officer came into the store and presented Jaque’ and Carli with a summons for breaking the antiquated statute as the anxious woman had in reality been an undercover cop wearing a wire! The wire was the reason she didn’t want an any sort of healing. She didn’t want to be found out…

When Carli went in to schedule her arraignment, the clerk on duty laughed out loud as the last time anyone was charged with this particular offence was in 1916! Gee…I wonder why…

After doing just a modest amount of research into this sort of religious percecution, it didn’t take much of an effort to find out that our “opinions” are protected under the Constitution, whether it is freely given or reimbursed. Indeed, gifted intuitives are sought after for their advice as that is what they do. Are you yet asking the same question that I am at this moment: what is wrong with this picture?!

Does it still really come down to this in backward communities? Will they backstab and run out on a rail a fellow shopkeeper and business woman because her lifestyle and beliefs are not exactly like everyone else’s? What if she were black? Jewish? Or heaven forbid…gay? Move over Harvey Milk.

And, if giving a “prediction” in these towns & municipalities is really a misdemeanor, then maybe the Kalamazoo Gazette should reconsider including the Horoscope in their entertainment section! And isn’t a psychologist paid to give advice to folks? How about stock brokers? I think this list of “offenders” could continue to grow ad infinitum.

I’m not sure what can be done to get such absurd laws off the books, so if anyone out there has any ideas I would be most glad to hear from you. In the meantime, I thought I would share this issue with the world so that everyone will know just how ignorant small town people really are.

Namaste.

‘Tis the night before the night before Christmas and all through the house…

I just love this very night. It is my favourite of the season. It’s just a few hours away from the real excitement but not quite and so it is mostly calm with a bit of expectation. It’s the calm before the storm of holiday festivities and I think everyone takes some time out about right now to stop, breathe, regroup and really enjoy the true meaning of what the season is all about.

I tend to sit back and think about all the memories from the year so far and how far we’ve come since this time last year…how the whole year seemed to go by so fast but the feeling of fun has lasts and it seems like only yesterday it was warm; how big the little ones are getting, but how it seems like only not too long ago that I myself was just a kid and how really I still am…and not only at heart; how very blessed we are to have a warm place to sleep and food for our tummies and how good it feels to give to charities any time of the year but especially now, keeping the spirit alive to live all through the year to come when a child believes in a caring world that lives in the warmth of a brand new teddy bear.

This night…love makes all the difference. Happy night before the night before Christmas…

Well, I went last night to see the highly anticipated movie by James Cameron -  ”Avatar”. At first, when I found out about this movie, I really didn’t wish to go see it. But my Significant Other asked me to go see it with him. How could I say no? He was so excited about this flick.

It  is as sad, thought provoking & heart wrenching as it is beautiful, artistic & awe inspiring.    

It manages to put the plight of the planet, the ill fate of races such as the Jews, Native Americans and so many others in the setting of a beautiful dream. It also touches upon things of a spiritual nature, which is as old as time itself, but still very controversial in today’s age. In one respect it is almost too much to take in and possibly ahead of it’s time, but on the other hand it is long over due.     

This film is by far the most disturbing & brilliant film I have ever seen. 

There are many things I like about this movie: it portrays women’s roles in a very positive and powerful way. The dialog is amazing and the score is spot-on. The graphics are the best I have ever seen. In fact, when Jake Sully speaks into his video log and says “I feel like there is real and here is not” I whisper under my breath “…no kidding!” I feel exactly the same way he does as I watch his incredible journey into a planet and culture and race of people that will forever change his life (and possibly mine by the time the lights come up and I venture back out into the real world). I am in awe of this beautiful world I see before me and highly upset that humans would even think about running rip shod all over them and their beautiful home.

But then I stop and think “…this is exactly the thing that HAS happened on the planet Earth over and over and over again. And then I get sadder…

A couple of things bothered me, though, about the mechanics of this film.  For one, the name of the mineral/substance that the Earthlings were trying to mine and strip from the planet Pandora was called “unobtainium”…  What is up with that? Here you have a film that is reported to have cost $300 – $500 million to make. Why skimp on the name of this very important element of the story? Another thing that bugs me: the violence. It seems to me these days that movie makers think that they have to inject *X* amount of violence into their story lines to make sure their ratings and box office numbers go up up UP. I find this insulting. I don’t need gratuitous bloodshed and violence to entertain me. In fact, it is just the opposite. I find that the older I get, the more I detest the sight of this made-up and thrill seeking type of thing in movies. Really good movies and stories just don’t need the violence to make it a good tale if it has any merit or is well written and executed. Quite to the contrary.     

I “get” that this movie has a message about all the social issues that we as a species have to work hard on fixing. BUT…why make up this elaborate multi-million dollar eye candy fantasy tale when there is so much documentation regarding such very real things that have come to pass since before the birth of Christ? The Inquisition, the Holocaust, the Native American massacres, Apartheid, the Civil War, and modern issues too numerous to mention…the list goes on and on and on. If kids need a message, show them the truth, not some candy-coated fairy tale.     

I know. It’s “just a movie”. But, parents be warned: this is not a film made for little kids, like the age rating and the trailers would lead you to assume.  PG13 I think should be taken rather literally with this one.     

Food for thought:  Is this movie the work of genius? Just a highly entertaining fantasy trip? Or is this just another attempt at raking in a pile of dough for the movie industry?     

Let me know what you think!

It seems that the more decks I learn about, the more favourites that I collect – if not physically, then at least in my dreams…

There are a few decks out there that I just can’t seem to find or get my hands on. The Victorian Romantic Tarot is one, The Sola Busca is another, and Buckland’s Romani Tarot is yet another again. Either they are available from time to time, but they are up for grabs for a very steep price, or they just are not anywhere to be found. Recently I found on their home website the Victorian Romantic tarot for sale at reverse auction for well over $1000 for a few decks that they managed to squirrel away, but decided to sell them off as a “holiday treat”! Recently they took that auction down for whatever reason – lack of interest? – and just asked a flat $850.00. Gads…

Sola Busca peeks out of obscurity from time to time on eBay, but not touchable for less than $250.00, give or take. Much more reasonable but still a little too steep for my blood.

Buckland’s Romani is just no where to be found that I can tell from my periodic checking. It is a beautiful and unusual deck that I hope to someday own. At least for now I can dream…

It doesn’t help matters when another awesome and amazing deck comes to my attention, and that deck is really two flavours of the same theme: The Lenormand Blue Owl Deck and the White Owl Deck!

The Lenormand Oracle ~ Blue Owl

Oh! How I love these cards!

I did manage to get a copy of the Petite deck available from Amazon.com. And I have tracked down a web site that carries both the White, Red and Blue decks – Esoterikshopping.de – but, alas, they don’t ship to the United States. So, while the search goes on, I am finding out more and more about this fascinating group of cards and their enchanting creator.

There are three wonderful WordPress Blogs that features the Lenormand cards: The Lenormand Oracle and Lenormand Oracle Cards and Lenormand Cards with Elizabeth -all blogs are very wonderful, informative and thought-provoking! I suggest to anyone with a keen or even a passing interest in European cards to check these out!

One day I will have in my collection these beautiful decks. Until then I have the miracle of the InterWebz to sate my thirst for the French cards…

Au revoir!

I’m not sure what happened, but my old blog bit the dust…

So…here it is -> my new and improved blog! I will be blogging like crazy very soon, so keep an eye on this spot for all new blog posts!

I feel kinda bad that I lost all the old stuff, but in another way, it is good! I can really concentrate on bringing you the very best that I can give to the world of Tarot blogs!

Stay tuned…