Monday is Tarot Day. Just another day at the Three Broomsticks...

Poor Professor Trelawney.  In the last few books of the "Harry Potter" series, she's all but forgotten, put on probation by Miss Umbridge (no one with a wall of meowing cat plates can be totally trusted), although she did have a brilliant moment of resurgence at the end during the Battle of Hogwarts, when she magically flung crystal balls at the aggressors.  But still, the woman was often thought of as a charlatan, which is a pack of lies.  For more about her history, take a gander at this entry about Sybill at Harry Potter Wiki:

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sybill_Trelawney

No one knows for sure if she's still teaching Divination at Hogwarts, but I hope she is.  When I recently visited the Three Broomsticks, I looked for her, inquired about her, but her whereabouts remain a mystery.

In her honor,and fulfilling a fantasy years in the making, my recent visit to the magical pub included not only a scrumptious and savoury Shepherd's Pie and a delightfully quaffable Butter Beer, but I took the liberty to lay out a simple three-card spread right then and there (drawing a few scurrilous glances from some Muggles who wandered in, but that's all in a day's work sometimes). 

The three-card spread is a classic past, present and future reading.  In the past position, the 4 of Swords.  Which fit that last 24-hours perfectly, as I suffered a fall at a restaurant the previous day (soapy floor.  very soapy.) and bruised my knee and yanked my shoulder, necessitating a period of rest.  The second card, Temperance, totally resonated with the fact that I needed to practice moderation in everything: physical activity, imbibing, eating. 

But what was the most interesting was the Prince of Cups card:  Prince Charming was in my future!  But I already possess a wonderful prince of my own, my sweet Ben.  What could that card portend?  Well, as it came to pass, we decided to visit Downtown Disney that evening and have a wonderful dinner there, followed by a lovely glass of wine atop the magnificent Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World, and then a ride on the monorail.  And my gallant love made certain it was a romantic, special evening, what with my birthday being only days away. (Note: none of the Disney princesses showed up, trying to snatch away my own prince, in case you were concerned)

Sybill, I hope I just made you proud with my own divinatory skills.  I raise my mug of creamy, addictive Butter Beer to you, oh wisest of the wise, a truly gifted seer, and one of my personal magical heroes!

Monday is Tarot Day. And I'm a real business now!

Later today, I'll traipse over to the bank, sit down with a smiling, well-scrubbed financial consultant, and open up my business checking account.  Yes, this is something that happens everyday at financial institutions around the globe, and I'm sure the shampooed and cologned, sparkling banker will smile and go through the routine steps for he/she that he/she performs in a workaday manner, proficiently but probably not in a necessarily inspired or excited fashion.

But me, I'll be well-scrubbed, excited, ebullient and scared.  I'll be brimming with expectation and full of promise for Great Things to Come.  I'll thank God and all my angels and guides for getting me to this place, like it's the Oscars.  I'll wear gray somewhere on my person because, according to the Llewellyn 2012 Magical Almanac, that's the magical color for the day.  The incense of the day is hyssop.  Not aware of the qualities of the herb, I did some research and learned it has a strong, minty aroma and is used to color the spirit absinthe.  It also causes convulsions in rats, so I might want to be careful with the hyssop.

Anyway - there will be Pam, partially slate-colored, minty and slightly hyssopy, ready to spring into action with her new LLC, now fully-realized with its very own account.  I've Incorporated due to the sudden complexity of my monies.  I'm not just a voice-over talent anymore.  Now I'm a writer, a blogger, a professional life coach, a certified tarot reader, and czarina of all I survey.

The hand of God presents a golden coin, in offering to the spirit of new enterprises, things shiny and new, and undertakings showing promise.  Shown here as represented in the Morgan-Greer deck, the Ace of Pentacles doesn't guarantee success, but it reminds you things are within your reach.  And it gives this assurance: spiritual peace can be attained through the material realm.  But you must walk through the threshold of the new, roll up those sleeves, dig in, and get your word out to the world.

Who's Your Muse?

Well, that first begs the question, "What exactly are muses?"  I mean, are they even perceptible to the human eye?

Mine is.  But before I get to that, a bit of background on muses.

According to the musical "Xanadu", muses all dance like they should be company members of the Joeffrey, sing ELO songs, and are surrounded by neon auras.  Now, that's really something, if you think about it. 

But the muses of ancient Greece didn't rely on such theatrics.  They were, quite simply, pretty dang powerful, talented women.

From Wikipedia:  The Muses, the personification of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music, are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory personified). Hesiod's account and description of the Muses was the one generally followed by the writers of antiquity. It was not until Roman times that the following functions were assigned to them, and even then there was some variation in both their names and their attributes: Calliope -epic poetry; Clio -history; Euterpe -flutes and lyric poetry; Thalia -comedy and pastoral poetry; Melpomene -tragedy; Terpsichore -dance; Erato -love poetry; Polyhymnia -sacred poetry; Urania -astronomy.

Muses inspire.  Sometimes muses shake things up a bit, perhaps clearing the creative cobwebs, so an artist can dare to explore and dream.

What got me focused on muses today?  Because I've been reading "Then Again", Diane Keaton's memoir.  And it hit me, pretty full-throttle, that she's been a long-time muse of mine.  Now, that's not to be confused with a guardian angel or spirit guide; I know mine quite well and sense they're always encouraging me to grow artistically.  And they DO inspire, but in ways that are not always perceptible.

Diane Keaton's been perceptible.  Yep, she's been a force, without her ever meeting me, without us so much as occupying the same space, for inspiring and igniting my creativity all across the board.  Following the functions above, I attest that Ms. Keaton's been my comedy muse ever since she said "La-Di-Da" over 35 years ago in "Annie Hall".  But there's been so much more to our association.

For instance, she inspires me with her work for animal rights. 

Her film and photography work fires me up to create in media that I might not otherwise have explored (like my book on vintage amusement parks, "The Cotton Candy Road Trip").   

And then there's the clothes...

Diane mixes the old with the new, the classic with the experimental.  I mix vintage with newer clothes all the time.  Odd?  Nope - just "Diane".  And hence, "Pam".

And oddness, quirkiness; there's that, too.  The stuff of which I'm made, that never, ever feels odd or quirky to me at all unless I attempt to play by the "rules".  Went through many a year trying to fit in and be status quo.  Well, that was a disaster - and the best learning experience I've ever had.  A blessing.

And another thing.  While reading her memoir, I am inspired to mention (again) just how nifty my mom was, how much she gifted me with, and how much I miss her.  And, like Diane has done for her mother in "Then Again", I would like to take the time to wish my mom had a better self-image, more self-esteem, because with her quick, clever mind, she could've made an even bigger impact in the world, if she'd have given herself a chance.

Diane Keaton has always been who I want to be when I grow up.  Which is awesome, because I feel she's someone who has no desire to ever completely do so.  Once, a life coach of mine gave me an excerise to determine who my Future Self would be: the older, wiser Pam.  I was led through a visioning experience and I met this person who I named Dakota, because she lived near the mountains.  And she looked pretty much like the photo to your left.

So, I officially dub Ms. Diane Keaton my Life Muse.  She'd probably scrunch her nose up at it and not want all the attention, wondering what all the fuss was about.  But Diane, I just have to tell you... it's all been good.  It's been freeing.  And I thank you from the bottom of my size 8 spectator shoes from the 40s (actual photo of my shoes!!) which make me take giant, risky, quirky, full-out steps.

Monday is Tarot Day. And I barely have the ability to focus on one, solid sentence...

You see, last night was our bi-monthly Chef's Table, wherein a small group of us friends get together and bring a course each, set around a theme for the evening - and we eat copious amounts of food.  And we also tend to drink copious amounts of liquor.  That amount of liquor is made even more copious due to the fact that two of the "courses" are aperitif and after-dinner drinks.

And then there's the wine.  Our lovely friend, Steve, always has a variety of wines at the ready; he is ever the consummate host.  And this is all well and good, but those of us with sensitive constitutions need to pace ourselves.

But, it's so very hard to pace one's self when the drinks are the likes of my friend Joy's own version of The Aviacion (gin, creme de violette, limoncello -- and repeat.  Often.) and my friend Jennifer's offering, post-meal, of the classic amaretto stone sour.  Yep, the same drink that made me tipsy and chatty back in college.  Because it's sweet and sunny, a friendly little drinkipoo that wouldn't hurt a flea.

And then there was all that wine...

Yes, the food was most excellent, with everything from oysters on the half-shell to blueberry crisp with blueberry honey ice cream.

I recall an egg in aspic and a chicken skewer somewhere in the middle of the evening..

Okay, so, the tarot.  Somewhere in between courses, The Devil card must've sauntered in, filled up a plate and several glasses, and threw its head back and laughed raucously.

Now, I could've posted one of the more classic images of The Devil card, with the Horned One inflicting all sorts of uncomfortable trepidation.  But, due to last night's bacchanalia, I decided to go with this one, from one of my favorite decks, The Housewives Tarot, by Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum: a clever little mid-century-style deck, full of humor and winks.  Look at all that blessed temptation surrounding the sassy Devil's Food cake (wearing high heels and horns and smoking a cigarette)!  Because The Devil, you see, is all about vices and addictions, throwing one's self full-tilt into worldly pleasures -- and getting lost there.

So plod very carefully through those temptations; you know which one is your particular downfall.

Pardon me now -- it's time for another Gas-X.  And an aspirin.  And a nap.

2012: The Year of Power

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJJ_AM5C4ns

So much hubbub has been made about 2012.  Some follow the history of the Mayan calendar and interpret it as stating the world will end on December 21st of this year, accompanied by the requisite fire, brimstone, and cats and dogs living together.  Others site all the changes that have been happening in the last few years as laying the groundwork for tremendous, quaking change in the Earth, affecting each and every soul which inhabits it.  Like if the World was put into a Shake and Bake bag, tossed about, and throw into a 450 degree oven.

Yowch.

If you ask me if I agree with these takes, I'd say no.  And yes.  And pretty much no.  But I reserve the right to change my mind.  Because it's all of the above.  And absolutely nothing that we've ever encountered before --  or will again.

The fact is, EVERY year is a year of change and upheaval.  EVERY year we're blessed with is a beautiful blank canvas just waiting for us to fingerpaint, scribble, write, or carefully construct an articulated model upon.  EVERY year has its gifts and issues and bumps and joys.  EVERY single year is a gift from God - and it's up to us if we want to use it, throw it away, or put it on a back shelf in hopes that, perhaps, in the future we'll have a purpose for it, like an oddly-colored sweater that doesn't quite "work" for us right now, but might at some point (we're "playing nice" with the Universe and not wanting to rock the boat, in other words).

Yet, after having said all that, 2012 does feel different in some way.  It feels like a time for clearing things that have no longer proven useful for us.  And that includes outmoded or limiting self-beliefs.  I get the sense that 2012 will act as a mirror, showing us ourselves more clearly than ever before.  And when we look into that mirror, we'll see our true selves, complete with precious warts, impossible beauty, and implacable possibility.  Imagine for a second how utterly powerful that is!

The video I've attached at the top of this post (thanks to my delightful coaching pal, Amy O'Rorke) is from the magnificent mind of Lee Harris (pictured at the left, who apparently got into some fingerpaints of his own), a channeler and psychic.  The video is 20 minutes long, but please take some time today to sit quietly, perhaps with a cup of tea and your favorite cookie, and take it in.  It doesn't matter if you are fully enrolled in its message, or if only a smidgen of it rests with you.  I believe allowing it to resonate with you for those 20 minutes will provide you with peace -- and possibly some clarity about your own power during these curious times.

Namaste (I rarely write "namaste" - I feel it needs to be given and received in person.  But I just realized I needed to write it and give it now, no matter what).

Modern Design for Better Living!

  http://vimeo.com/7395852

I have a vision board that sits at the upper right hand corner of my desk area.  Perhaps I'll share it with you all at some point, but for now, I will share what peppers it as far as the most prominent image: modernism.  Besides images of my wonderful hubby and me, our dainty beaglette, images of plenty and wonder and love and possibility, I have a preponderance of mid-century items plastered to the simple grey posterboard.  Fabulous ranch homes, sleek furnishings, window walls that blend the exterior into the interior, see-through fireplaces.

 In my future vision, I see a place where Ben and I have fantastic modern offices with enthralling views of mountainous vistas.  We spin around in our Knoll chairs . . .

 and take in the world around us.

Our home is sleek and modern, mid-century cool and welcoming.  And just a tad eccentric...

The video I've posted at the top of this blog post is for a trailer for a new documentary about the life work of William Krisel, whose amazing structures dot the landscape of Palm Springs (and many other places throughout the country).  His style is flowing, clean, and encourages growth and movement.  We drove past many of his homes last February while sweeping through this Mid-Century wonderland.  I simply could not find the words to describe my glee over seeing them in person.  In fact, I babbled as if I didn't have enough oxygen flowing to my brain. 

In my perfect dreamscape, Ben and I inhabit this quirky yet calm physical world.

And that's why Ben and I will live in such a place in the future.  Because co-active coaches need that sort of flow in their lives in order to energetically set that sense of energetic flow into our clients' lives, clutter-free and expansive.  These structures will most assuredly add that extra level of zip and style, with cool functionality and warmth combined.

Monday is Tarot Day. Yesterday was Graduation Day.

Anyone hear the faint melody of "Pomp and Circumstance" yesterday afternoon around three o'clock or so, emanating from the Chicago suburb of Rosemont?  Wouldn't be surprised if you did, because at that time, a gaggle of new CTI coaches were having their commencement and receiving their diplomas.  And I'm extremely fortunate and blessed to say that I was one of them.

Co-active coaching is powerful, inspirational and important work.  I've worn a number of hats in my day and played a variety of roles, both onstage and off.  And although my work as a coach has just begun, I feel it's some of the most impactful and God-centered stuff I've ever learned - and I'm chomping at the bit to share it with the world.

Part of our commencement ceremony included a moment when we declared to ourselves, the entire room and, essentially, the Universe, the gift each of us is as a coach and how we'll share that gift with the world.  Here is my declaration:

"The gift that I am as a coach is authentic mastery, bringing my authentic self to the coaching conversation and shining my inner light on others to help guide them to their authentic voice.

The impact of that gift on the world is whimsical, magical, crazy-cool connection and, ultimately, peace."

When I think of light that guides the way, the tarot card of "The Star" shines brightly.  That's why I've decided to employ its image and energy as the logo for my co-active coaching business, Guided by a Star.  The Star (besides being the tarot card connected with the sign of Aquarius, which is my sign as well as the astrological ambassador of change, the visionary, and forward motion in general), is the card of transformation, of listening to that small, still voice within, of moving forward with one's life after leaving limiting self beliefs behind.  Folks who want to dig deeply into their lives, shine light on the inner strengths and bring them to full fruition are welcome to contact me to sign up forthwith and immediately. 

Co-active coaching is such important work, especially in these times of disruption and alienation.  To know you have someone who's got your back, someone who is a true champion, completely engaged in your inner growth and forward motion is a tremendous gift, one that I'm committed to realize for each and every person who'll allow me the honor of working with them.

It's the Year of the Dragon! Grrrroooowwwll!

  http://astrology.about.com/od/2012/qt/2012-Flight-Of-Dragon.htm

Just read the above article about the upcoming year.  Looks like the Dragon brings with it some great changes, a revolutionary spirit.  Should be interesting.  I like being informed, so I took a look at some of the history behind the Dragon in Chinese astrology and learned that...

More than 4,000 years ago, there were two large tribes and many smaller tribes in China. The tribes had animals as emblems. The two large tribes unified and chose the dragon as their symbol. In fact, the Han Chinese still call themselves the descendants of the Dragon.In Chinese astrology the dragon was seen as a powerful almighty king because it was made up of different parts of animals such as a tiger, fish, snake and an eagle.
The Chinese dragon was not seen as a threatening evil being as we do in the west - rather a symbol of power, superiority and rule.Still today, the Dragon is a revered symbol. You can see many sculptures and carvings of the dragon. Even today, the Chinese associate the dragon with power and wisdom.

2011 was the Year of the Rabbit. I'm a Rabbit, a Water Rabbit, to be precise.  What does that mean?  That I'm a calm and peaceful creature, particularly well-dressed, who enjoys the finer things in life, like good cuisine and wine.  How does the Water Rabbit spend her time?  Picking out fabulous things to wear, vacationing and reading poetry.  Picture her sliding down the side of a rainbow into a pond of crystal-clear water, with a family of unicorns nearby... 'tis the life of the Water Rabbit. 

2011 was a pretty lucky year for me.  But in roars the Dragon, with a snarling energy, taking no prisoners. So I remind myself that I'm also an Aquarius, the sign of eccentricity, independence and revolutionary thought and action.

Hmmm... maybe this Dragon will turn out to be my pal after all?

Curious about how the two years work with each other, I found this excellent article from the Fresno Bee that compares and contrasts the two years, and gives you an indication of what 2012 might be like.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/29/2664555/2012-year-of-the-dragon.html

Hold onto your hats, ye wee bunnies and goats, ye tiny pigs and roosters.  The year of the Dragon is Nigh.

  Hopefully he'll be more like the wacky one pictured here - B.J. and Dirty Dragon, the stars of the children's show I watched back in the 70s.  Maybe Dirty wouldn't mind sharing a five-course tasting menu with this Water Rabbit. Now, that would be awesome!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_BJ_and_Dirty_Dragon_Show

Monday is Tarot Day: New year, new excitement and alchemical possibility.

http://www.elion.ee/docs/joulukaart/eng/

Go to this link and play.  Then think about how to apply the message to your new year.

And don't forget to play.

This little page will instill in you a quick, plug & play sense of magic.  And really, just clicking on it, giving your mouse a whirl, and watching the brilliance happen might be the teensy little noodge (yes, "noodge") you might need to start 2012 off with the sense that anything and everything wonderful CAN happen.  Because you have it in you already.  You know this.

Like the tarot's magician, you stand at the ready, equipped with the tools you need to create the spectacular.  Imagine 2012 is set at your altar, and your magical tools are primed and at your service.  Perhaps you might take some time for stillness, selecting a place that will be your altar for alchemy. Your tools might include a journal and pen, or a laptop, or a mound of clay, or flour, water, salt and butter.  Tools and outcomes may vary, but the love that's infused into the act and the aim to create something wonderful, positive and helpful is the same.

Ready?  Set?  Create magic.