5th May 2020 ...Sledgehammer

Today's storytelling.
Sledgehammer
Well a really obscure one from the universal comms team, Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer"
I have no idea how this one is going to pan out !
Let's see ...
Our first card today is the 9 of pentacles (pentacles representative of the earth element and manifestation)
Today as I look at the card the word "hedge witch" comes to mind.
Although there are a lot of different definitions of what a hedge witch is and does, for the most part, they work with herbal magic, as well as an emphasis on a deep understanding and connection with nature.
A hedge witch might perform healing and shamanic actions, or perhaps work with the changing seasons.
Hedge witchcraft involves deep study of plants and the natural world.
The term hedge witch is an homage to the wise women of old, who often lived on the outskirts of villages, beyond the hedge, so to speak. The midwives, the herbalists and the healers.
Hedge witches typically find magical intent in routine, day to day activities.
They uncover the miraculous in the mundane. Showing gratitude in the smallest of gifts from mother nature.
The hedge witch of old usually practiced alone and lived magically day to day, simple acts like brewing a pot of tea or sweeping the floor were infused with magical ideas and intentions.
I guess those activities we could so easily overlook and take foregranted. Simple acts of magic conducted with loving intent.
Perhaps most importantly, the hedge witch learned her practices from older family members or mentors, honed her skills through years of practice, trial, and error.
This is a very interesting thread today. So much synchronicity to a conversation I had with a friend this morning, we were relating to his friend talking about their frustration of being at home, not going about their usual work.
They had been using their time on tending to their allotment and yet hadnt realised the value in that action. They hadn't appreciated the true worth in planting and cultivating the earth, bringing fresh produce to the table in order to nurture and sustain the family.
I wonder, is this a reminder that maybe we have become too far removed from honouring such gifts.
It strikes me ( oh... there it is .... like a Sledgehammer) that we have forgotten we are a part of nature, with its turn of the seasons and its natural ebb and flow.
That in these days of being at home; perhaps for the first time in a longtime, we have heard the dawn chorus.... I mean really heard it and basked in its glory.
Maybe we have spent time baking or creating with our children, passing on age old knowledge that had gotten lost in a void of our busy hamster wheel of exsistance.
Perhaps we've taken more walks, noticing more... the shifting of the seasons in the folage of the trees and the budding and blossoming of the hedgerows.
I don't know about you, I've seen far more photos on social media of gardens, waterways, wildflowers and countryside recently.
Perhaps the peace and magic we are discovering in this quiet time of unfolding transition is the gift 🎁 that without the Sledgehammer of our current scenario could have never been uncovered and rediscovered.
Our second card of the day is the 2 of swords. ( Swords representative of the air element and of thought and intellect)
What jumps out from the card today is actually the crossroads. We see a woman blindfolded, her vision of what lies ahead unclear. The black crows are screeching at her, perhaps representing the inner dialogue and chatter in her mind. It appears her thoughts are overpowering her ability to see clearly.
Perhaps she appears today to show us that it is normal to feel fear and doubt when we have no vision of how things will move forward. It can be confusing, overwhelming and even alarming.
And yet out of this time of uncertainty and difficulty we can focus on moving to lighter times.
Our 3rd card today is the 3 of pentacles ( another earthy manifestation card)
We see collaboration, communication, community and creation in this card. Everyone having a part to play and the collective consciousness of the group towards a shared outcome.
We in some ways are back to the story of the hedge witch.... skills and knowledge passed on within communities, crafting something together ❤, each bringing their unique skills and talents to manifest something for the benefit of the greater good.
So there we have it... perhaps this has been our "Sledgehammer" moment, our wake up call.
#makingadifference #lifeisbeautiful