The gods took equal parts fast and slow, equal parts language and music, equal parts material and spiritual and equal parts she and he, all the things in equal measure… and they mixed them in their lotus cauldron as they stirred to life the Muse of Temperance. They needed this balance and malleability in the world, you see, as her voice of temperate reason would bring them together in a beautiful blend of oneness. Temperance doesn’t jump to excess. She doesn’t rely on the dark or the full moon. Instead, she is a mosaic of parts and she melts it all together in a way that spins the best of the best of the best into one. In her spinning, she weaves purpose and harmony into the lives of others. She gifts meaning and joy. She brings together emerging energies and makes them one. She makes them available, and understandable. And her greatest gift, amidst all of this alchemy, is to create the treasure of healing. She will turn despair into the gift of patience, and blend the need to thrive with the need to enjoy, as her middle path is one that favors simplicity over complexity, allowing hearts to simply be. What areas of excess need greater balance in your life?

“Freedom to swing, sweet Universe?”
Freedom Granted.
*
Yes! Pause time! She floated up to the top of the world, and hooked her knees around the timeline of life. Choosing a moment to sit with and swing with, she began to rock back and forth as she let out a huge sigh. So huge, it almost sounded like a mountain shifting. She was long overdue for this pause, and things below, in the right-side-up of her life… things had been gaining a great deal of out-of-control-ness, as of late. With a deep breath in, she sank into her timelessness to just enjoy this moment. This gift.
Full flow.
Deep breathing. A disconnected stop. And she let go of trying to control it all… she surrendered to the swing of the Universe and she allowed the truth to float to the surface.
And she promised herself, like all of the other times she would swing, that whatever wisdom she was gifted here would be wisdom that she would act upon. That was the only way that the insights would keep arriving. For in this position, above the mountain of the all-seeing eye, is where she would gain true perspective. Everything always looked so different up here, in this bird’s-eye view of her life. She shifted her range and looked out over her many-years-view. The long game. The things she cannot control… now, then, nor ever. She looked out over the view that belongs to others, and not to her. This flipped way of seeing the world always gave her knowledge beyond her own imagination. It made her realize that she was encased in her own suit of stories that was fashioned by her own perceptions. She realized that she was living in this suit without questioning her own reality… without questioning her ability to change her thinking. “One more swing,” she thought, “One more loosening of my mind, to let go of what I think I know.” She breathed in the beauty of the new, and felt her heart expand with new patterns of being and thinking. And with a final stretch she grew into something else. Something bigger. Better. And the wisdom flowed.

Oh sweet light, how it glows. I am finally ready to see you, miracle of luminosity… soft emanation from the ethers. I see you in my dreams, in my desires, and on the horizon when I am still. You are there in the sunlight and in the moonlight. And I know that it is with you that true wisdom lies. In your shimmers, I have walked, day and night, ruminating on your Source. Where does your knowledge come from? And how can I access you? Eventually, I spot your glow resting, blanketing a fountain of stillness in the distance. As I walk, mindfully, I feel you stir beneath my skin. A knowing comes over me. An instinct that I am almost there. I try to understand my own motivation for seeking you. I envsion my path now, whispering from beyond, in dreams and in ideas, and through it all, your light opens up the way of possibility. I see you, even stronger now, blazing in the fire of my passion to be whole, and I see you in in my tinkering Spirit, testing so many routes along the way. And after so much journeying, I realize I am quiet now. Alone. Listening to my own heart. My cloak flaps in the breeze, and I yawn deeply to stretch my soul. Rest. Now. By this beautiful tree. And when I close my eyes to sink into a deepened state, you are no longer there, yet you are here. So close in fact, that I realize that your light is coming from within me. And I have been chasing its glow all along. You are within me. You are the best of me, when I am present. And your wisdom only comes when I stop seeking beyond and start feeling within. And I smile myself to sleep.

She has been up here before. And down there. She has been all of these things, through her journey of discovery. No one, not even the Muse of the Wheel, has learned how to love life to the fullest without experiencing the absence of happiness from time to time. Yet she has learned to enjoy all the stages, knowing she will rise and fall like the moon. She spins and shifts, fluidly… wavering for a moment, and then she shifts again. She smiles down at the earth, knowing that we may find these ups and downs confusing. She reminds you to call on the Muse of the Wheel to spin some karmic beauty to move you ahead, as she will hear you when you need her. She especially loves to spin the wheel for those who carry memories of discomfort in their genes, as experiences or ancestral DNA are cycles that she loves to heal. Other times, she gifts us the seeds of luck and fate to carry with us, as she can use them to seed more serendipity on our paths. (Oh, how she loves to create serendipity!) If you seek to see the spinning fortunes that lie ahead, she always places her breadcrumbs of laughter and love within reach. Seek them, knowing that your destiny, your fortune and your fate are bubbling with positive magic lying dormant to be found, and that divine timing will guide them to the surface of your experience.

“And oh what a curious sight we must be,” he mused. This tiny thing, perched on his head, leading the way with her breath. “But they don’t know you like I do,” he continued, “and all the strength you carry.” She smiled a slow nod, head high, innocence in tow. He could feel her deep passion and life radiate from within her. All that warmth. All that softness. And yet somehow, all the beasts – both wonderful and terrible – seem to take great pleasure in bowing before her. They all yield to her quiet strength and simple desire, and they all fall in reverence to her peaceful demeanor. For the power in her breath is calmness embodied. It is flexible defiance and brave tranquility. And she has the most courageous of hearts. He looked up at her small toes, dangling down into the corners of his vision, and tilted his head back to lick them. She giggled. And leaned down and wrapped her small arms around his neck and gently squeezed. “It’s true,” she whispered. Her love stopping him in his tracks, “What a curious sight we must be.” 

She thinks about his wild heart. His instinct. His power. And she thanks him for his company. And onwards they go, peacefully, into the night.

She burned her plan into her mind’s eye and her heart. Uphill or downhill, she was determined to get there, and nothing would stand in her way. Drawing down the power of the cosmos into her solar plexus, all of her will power poured out into the night and etched her path in the sand. A thousand horses thundered onto the grounds below her, and she stretched her hands and connected to their energy. The horses had different ideas about where they wanted to run to. Some pulled left and some pulled right. Some agreed with the plan and others did not. But the Chariot Muse – in all her steadfast willpower and determination – was able to coax these wild beauties on track. Like yin and yang and water and fire, the opposite energies were able to work together to gallop towards her chosen destination, when she focused. Steady. Controlled. And moving. Her dream was in sight and she chased it.

All she could smell was the sweet scent of the flower, as the curious landscape shifted. It drew her closer and closer still… as if the scent filled the very sand of this place. She felt drawn in, by a completely invisible string. Above, a moon lotus hung in the sky, and giant wings caressed its petals. It smelled of love and sunshine. Was it cupid? An angel? She wasn’t afraid, yet she felt awash with curiosity and a hundred what ifs. She felt no fear, until the moment that she saw her… the other person approaching… from the other side of the strange hill.
Skip skip. Her heart jumped.
She felt excited and fascinated by the beautiful creature. Graceful. Honest. Stunning. And it was clear that their awareness was one of mutual fascination. The fear began to creep in, like it always did, beginning with the back of her shoulder blades and then moving to tighten her chest. Those memories in her gut. Those unhealthy experiences. And the rustling wings reached down and inched them closer together. “Beautiful little spirit. If you want to love, you must make a choice to love. You must say yes to your heart before the lotus opens.” She nodded at the wings, heart racing. And two desert flower crowns were placed down above the small spirits, marking them as two souls entwined. Two strong lovers. Resilient. Forever to be wrapped and destined to make their mark on one another’s paths. And all she could do was fall into this beating rhythm of oneness, and breathe into the union of the now.

She has journeyed so far to be here, in this place, with this Muse, a statuesque look at perfection, and light. She thinks of all of the miles she has walked. And all of the people who have come here, before her. And when she finally arrives at the foot of this oracle, she hopes that this devotional Muse will see her, and gift her some slice of wisdom, or a small miracle in gratitude for her proven faith. But as she approaches she notices that her guru’s eyes are locked above on the heavens. The Muse is in a trance, focused on love and on the divine above her. She notices not those travellers at the base of her likeness. This space is simply the embodiment of the liminal to her, because she lives her faith with such fervor that she seems to be locked in a state of worship, like a photograph. The tiny traveller, somewhat disappointed that she wasn’t noticed, starts a small fire to warm her soul and begins to craft her devotional lantern as most do when they are here in this sacred space. As she works, her heart warms. Her love grows. And she hears a loving voice in her head spark to life, “Sweet travelling soul. Thank you for visiting me. I ask you to look at the form in front of you. This statue. Are you worshipping me for the way I look? Or are you worshipping me for the way I act? Or do we worship the same? Aren’t we the same, you and I? Aren’t our actions of the past only figments of memory today, as we sit here together, as equals, in the present?” Staring into the fire, the weary journeyer pauses in reflection. Indeed, she realizes that she has been worshipping both the earthly and the spiritual. The muse winks and whispers, “Therein lies the secret, beautiful heart. I see you. I see your love. It is now time for you to lead yourself in service.”

“Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.” – Leonardo da Vinci

She strums her fingers and sends a quartet of Borealis strings out into the sky. A simple joy, but one that she happily gifts the people below. The lights serve as a reminder that there is a symphony of life around them… a bigger plan that is not always evident from every vantage point. She steps onto the landscape with all of the strength and harmonic leadership that a powerful Emperor Muse can bestow. A warm breeze warms their cheeks, and she leads them confidently and graciously… empowering each and every one of them to do their very best work. She is a guardian. A provider. A steward. And she watches the lands and the mountains with great fondness. Busily, they mill and move and dance and sing, and when she hears the earthly hum of the land below, she knows that they are happy. Her heart lights up, and the warm glow of her contented structure warms the tops of the mountains. The night sky fades to the most beautiful shades of indigo, and peace fills the valley as all are protected and fostered.

Breathing life. Creating love.
Everything for the good of all creation.
Even when they can’t see the how and the why of it all.

The Cosmic Empress strolls gracefully in her garden of ideas. Golden seeds everywhere, she’s the epitome of fertility and feminine creation. Whistling the tones of symmetry and sacred geometry, she spirals her voice into beautiful new patterns and hums a new time-line into being. Seeds spark, plants begin to shoot, and from somewhere across the distance she hears the singing voices of children who are dancing their futures to life. Smiling, she pulls her hood back and showers their worlds with new energy and nurturing, motherly care. And all the Planets, worlds, lives and loves spiral out, auspiciously, from her star seed core. She creates from her most readily available resource of love, and she sends you a warm nod and a wink while reminding you that you can also access this ancient creator energy. As her children, we are made of this same fairy dust and we are shaped from the elements that originated from deep within her big-bang heart. We can use her musings to create life from deep within our bellies, or to bring our most exquisite visions into being. Her golden seeds are, after all, everywhere you look. Or wait… did you think those were lemons? ‘Hmmm,’ she muses, ‘What a wonderfully perfect day for some lemonade.