Festival of Life

by Josephine Wall

Christmas already, huh? It hasn't felt like Christmas for years... so for me, I guess today is more about Yule and celebrating spirit/life. 

I remembered more parts to my dream than usual, but I don't know enough detail to make any sense of them. I did, however, have a bit of a revelation regarding a friendship both in-life and in my dream, just like my Pisces horoscope suggested. I still, however, am not sure what my course of action should be; I suppose I'll consult Leon later for a bit of advice.

Today's draw is for the Festival of Life, which puts an emphasis on how to connect directly to spirit. The card that I drew was Four of Water - Bridget, who is primarily associated with all forms of healing, but also the elements, it seems. The light bursting through the trees... I find this also very applicable, because it's true: I still require healing in a few areas; I also have been connecting more and more with nature because I'm finding myself detaching more from my shell with every week that passes. The light filtering through the trees is a powerful image, too. It's kind of like saying, "You're almost there..." 

Yesterday was a chill day. We went out in the rain and cold to retrieve our sushi/sashimi platter, then our ham for today, and came home to eat, make some food, and play games. Mom and brother enjoyed their gifts, and I now have enough sugar to last me half a year (lol). 

BB's coming over to eat and chill with us for most of the day. I'm really hoping she's not bringing any gifts, because I have nothing for her in return (she never did tell me), and then I would feel obligated to whip something up for her. Freaking commercial holidays, I swear.

Okay. I have to blab about Merlin now, so for those who aren't interested, or for those who don't want spoilers, ignore the rest of this post.

I guess I'll first say: it was a lot better than I had anticipated. Now, I'm actually very unfamiliar with the Arthurian legends. This is actually why I never bothered to give Merlin a try in the past - because the Arthurian legends were never something I had read or been interested in before. So I had no idea that Arthur is supposed to die in the original legend (but I was enlightened by all the people who were commenting on the videos). 

I was misty-eyed - not going to lie. I didn't know whether I wanted happy or sad/realistic, but now that I've watched it a second time, I'm kind of glad it went the way it did. 

BUT - what the hell was with that ending? Is that supposed to be the foreshadowing for some kind of sequel (like the alleged film trilogy)? I mean, I guess it was interesting to see that Merlin still stuck around Avalon hundreds of years later, but that was... peculiar. If that's the basis for the trilogy they've been talking about, then I'm a little hesitant, unless this supposed trilogy is based on the rise of Arthur. 

Now... the episode itself was, like I said above, a lot better than I expected in terms of content. I was wondering how the battle would play out, but Jesus - talk about erratic. I didn't mind so much because I was entirely immersed in the Merthur bromance (oh my holy Shiva), but now that I watched it a second time and had the chance to see exactly how the episode proceeds, I'm a little disappointed. It really did seem like it was thrown together. Morgana's death was pretty anticlimactic, and that whole Gwaine/Percival adventure seemed like a cheap way to kill my favorite knight off. 

I am glad, though, that they went the bromance route. I wasn't expecting 75% of the episode to consist of the journey to save Arthur's life, but I'm quite content with that, because it was bloody moving as hell. I adore the boys' performance in this one. They did really well not only with the bromance, but with Arthur's reaction to the magic, too. That seemed like a fairy realistic reaction considering everything the two have been through. I'm very pleased that the writers gave us the chance to see Arthur witness all Merlin's been doing for him over the years. It was so sweet.

So yeah. I'm not as disappointed as most other fans are, but as far as the actual writing goes, it could've been a lot better. I think they were mainly focused on feeding the rabid fangirls wanting Merthur action (I was totally expecting them to kiss after Arthur said, "Hold me." JESUS), in which case I can't complain, because that's the main reason I watch this show. 

I'm a little sad that it's all over, but I'm just grateful I was able to see the fifth series as it aired in the UK. If it wasn't for those few YT users, I would've had to wait 2-3 months (maybe even longer) for it to be uploaded on Netflix streaming. 

I don't know how long I'll keep rewatching. This is usually how my obsessions go; I'll get really into a show or film and keep rewatching it over and over for weeks at a time until I've finally grown tired of it. It's been a month since I began watching Merlin, and I haven't tired of it yet, so... who knows? Maybe something else will come along. Actually, I still have to keep up with Once Upon a Time, but I think I'll wait until the 2nd season is released on Netflix streaming. 

Thanks for another enjoyable show, BBC. You guys always do so much better than us, even if your endings are disorganized. 

Now I think I'll go work on Winterspell stuff before everyone wakes up... because I probably won't be able to until tomorrow.   

Yule

by nieblastocks @ deviantART

Well, the weather certainly is suited for Yule/winter solstice today. The rain from yesterday blew in a cold front, and now it feels like 22 degrees with all the wind out there (which is apparently something like -5.5 degrees for out-of-country folks). That makes me a little miffed, because I wanted to spend a little while outside today... just for the sake of connecting with nature during this significant time. At least the sun is shining.

I had a very interesting night. Before I went to bed, I programmed my picture jasper with the intent of recalling my dreams in great detail and put it under my pillow with my quartz, lapis, and angelite. But once again, I was very restless in my sleep, so I would wake every hour or few hours, only to recall this one piece of a dream. It soon got to be 7 AM, and I woke remembering one significant image from my dream: seeing a dark-haired woman dressed in white with a knife, ready to kill my dad. 

I mean... whoa.
Now, to touch on the cards I pulled from yesterday.. they basically told me that my dreams would be based on new beginnings, potential, adventure, perfect timing, divine inspiration/guidance, and following the path that has been laid out for me. And when I think about it, that one image I woke up remembering was the perfect "message." A woman in white... white representing the purity of spirit, spiritual perfection. Killing my dad. Why? Because my dad is the only obstacle standing on the path to my contentment. My mom shares his view on wanting me to stay in school and get a degree, find a stable job, etc., but she's much too passive and submissive and doesn't really say much about it unless it's brought up. 

So yes. Mother Night delivered the one sole image I needed to see. 

Today's draw is based on Yule, which marks the beginning of the sun's reappearance. As such, the card I draw will give advice on how to best connect with the light within and around me. That card is Nine of Water - Lakshmi, who represents prosperity, emotional and spiritual abundance, creative fertility, and spiritual harmony/enlightenment.

I'd say this is also kind of fitting. There is a sense of spiritual peace and wisdom about this card... I feel like it's reminding me of my true nature, since I haven't been connected with it lately. I haven't been feeling it. So I think that's my answer: to feel the prosperity, abundance, and fertility that I am, to be aware of the light that I am. 

Works for me.

In other news, I have a few things to do today, including tidying up my bathroom and wrapping a couple of gifts. My brother drives in tomorrow at noon (he's leaving at around 10 PM tonight) and will be with us a couple days past New Year's, I believe, so today's pretty much the last day of privacy I have until then. I just have to remind myself to enjoy my brother's company and to not get too pissed when I find myself lacking on introvert time. 

Also, I'm a bit flustered with Amazon right now, because it's making me want to buy things, and I really don't want to spend the money, because I need to save it. However, it's marking down a few items I've been keeping my eye on, such as a couple card decks and an expensive but lovely statue of Shiva that decreased $16 in price. Gahh. 

And speaking of card decks... I stumbled upon a freaking beautiful deck called the Mary-El tarot, which is a bit grotesque but wonderfully surreal and somewhat dark. And I like "darker" cards. The light and fluffy ones do me no good. The only thing about the Mary-El, though, is that it's $26, because it comes in a nice box and everything. There are a few cards in the deck - specifically the minor arcana - that are a little plain to me, such as the Seven of Wands (a wolf face?), the Four of Swords, and the Seven of Cups. But the rest are freaking lovely. Click the link if you're interested in seeing the cards (thank goodness the artist had the courtesy of posting them all). 

I was also on the lookout for a dragon-themed deck, but I wasn't satisfied with the ones that have been published. I was originally looking at the Dragons Tarot, which had some nice illustrations; however, I couldn't resonate well with the imagery and what it symbolized. The other dragon decks were either illustrated in a style I didn't like or were too plain. I'm kind of tempted to just make my own when I start creating decks, although I'm going to need a lot of dragon anatomy practice...

The last deck I was introduced to recently is the Tarot of the Silicon Dawn, although I haven't completely decided whether I resonate with this one. I like the bold, graphic imagery of this deck, but there's not enough detail in there for me. So it's just wishlisted for now. 

That Mary-El tarot... *whistles*
I'll tell you something else, though. I'm actually waiting for a deck that I resonate so freaking well with. The only thing is, it's a work in progress. It's called the Dreams of Gaia Tarot, and it's being drawn/designed by the same artist who illustrated my Mythic Oracle deck. Click this link for a sample of the Gaia deck - it's so beautiful. Unfortunately, the artist, Ravynne, claims it probably won't be published until late 2013 due to health problems she's had and whatnot. 

It's going to be hard to wait for that one, but I suppose Mary-El can keep me company until then. I just have to wait until I have some extra funds to buy that one.

Jesus. Freaking cards, man. They get you hooked. 

Anywho. I guess I'm off to take advantage of some less-populated servers before getting my tasks done today.