10 of Cups
The power of love to transcend all obstacles. A journey of the heart come full circle.
This is as true a story as I can make it with fact. I have filled in the gaps with my own ideas, which make the story somewhat fanciful, but the message no less important. Annabella was a little girl who grew up south of San Francisco with two loving parents. Her father came from Italy and established himself here, and then went back after several years to retrieve his bride. She was the third sister of a family of three sisters, and he was the third brother of a family of three brothers. The two older sisters had married the two older brothers, so it felt natural for the remaining sister and brother to marry each other. This is true. Together, they made their home in the city of Colma, home of the dead in 17 well-manicured cemeteries. They bore a small daughter named Maria, who died when she was but two days old. When she died, she offered her spirit to watch over her family. In return, they honored her at family occasions and kept her memory alive. In time, they bore another daughter who lived, Annabella. This happy little family referred to themselves as "the three cats."
Annabella grew up. She married. She had a son and a daughter. You may fill in the gaps here- there is great potential for adventure in the middle of this story. The son and daughter grew up, moved, started their own lives. And then, when they reached the prime of life, Annabella and her husband were parted by his death. Annabella was inconsolable. You may wonder what that looked like. Did she tear her hair and weep? Did she shriek and keen in pain? Did she huddle alone in her home, unsure of what to do next? Let us say she went through all of the above. Finally, she began to wander, to follow her lost soul over this planet. She chased her spirit for over a year, and one day she found herself in England, in a tiny curio shop. In this shop, there was a glass case filled with beautiful bottles of multi-colored glass. Each bottle had two different color tones on it, and so it was that Annabella selected a gold and orange one, because when she touched it, she felt the warmth of the sun creep back into her body. She asked the shop owner what the bottle was for, and he replied, "It is an equilibrium bottle. It will help bring balance back into your life." She took this bottle home and began to feel better. You may wonder what that looked like. Did she laugh again? Did she feel a shy smile creep across her face for no reason every now and then? Did she open her mouth and fill her belly with starlight? Let us say she went through all of the above.
Annabella, newly re-enspirited, protected now by the ghosts of her sister, parents, and husband, embarked on the next phase of her journey. A dream came to her that told her to purchase 7 rose bushes of varying colors, to raise them, to sing to them, and to use them to make essences for healing. And Annabella knew that there were many other people like her in the world, who had suffered losses of various sorts. So she set about figuring out how to achieve this goal. She lived in a tiny apartment and did not have the kind of yard she needed in order to best grow these roses, and so she joined a community garden. There she tended her roses and sang to them. She told them stories of how they would bless and help people. She lay down next to the plants and napped, and dreamed of their spirits. Animals came with her on these journeys of the soul, and she learned a great deal about the worlds below the surface of the Earth, just outside of the reach pf the visible eye. On a clear, cloudless, perfectly sunny day right before the full moon, Annabella found all 7 plants in a state of ideal bloom. She gently removed a single perfect blossom from each plant and carefully floated it in a large crystal bowl of water by moonlight and sunlight. She sang to the waters. From these waters, she created rose essences that she gave to friends and others who needed them: the Rose Hippolyte for the third eye, the Orange Rose for the womb, the Chinese Green for the heart. People came from far and wide to seek these essences, so lovingly and diligently created by Annabella. She began selling them, and made a living with that and also with helping people, bathing their feet, singing to them, whatever she thought of. When asked why she did this, Annabella said, "I want to give the very best of myself to whomever needs me."
The story of Annabella is not over- she lives still, and creates love wherever she goes with roses, footbathing, songs, and spirit. So, too, is my story still ongoing, as I learn how to give the very best of myself to those who need me. The 10 of Cups today is a sign that I am entering my best and most loving space, where the power of my very best will help me overcome the tendency toward the less-than-best when I feel rushed or stressed or full. The story of Annabella reminds me to take the time to be the loving I wish to see, and to make sure I do it with my whole heart. There is nothing more important that that.
This is as true a story as I can make it with fact. I have filled in the gaps with my own ideas, which make the story somewhat fanciful, but the message no less important. Annabella was a little girl who grew up south of San Francisco with two loving parents. Her father came from Italy and established himself here, and then went back after several years to retrieve his bride. She was the third sister of a family of three sisters, and he was the third brother of a family of three brothers. The two older sisters had married the two older brothers, so it felt natural for the remaining sister and brother to marry each other. This is true. Together, they made their home in the city of Colma, home of the dead in 17 well-manicured cemeteries. They bore a small daughter named Maria, who died when she was but two days old. When she died, she offered her spirit to watch over her family. In return, they honored her at family occasions and kept her memory alive. In time, they bore another daughter who lived, Annabella. This happy little family referred to themselves as "the three cats."
Annabella grew up. She married. She had a son and a daughter. You may fill in the gaps here- there is great potential for adventure in the middle of this story. The son and daughter grew up, moved, started their own lives. And then, when they reached the prime of life, Annabella and her husband were parted by his death. Annabella was inconsolable. You may wonder what that looked like. Did she tear her hair and weep? Did she shriek and keen in pain? Did she huddle alone in her home, unsure of what to do next? Let us say she went through all of the above. Finally, she began to wander, to follow her lost soul over this planet. She chased her spirit for over a year, and one day she found herself in England, in a tiny curio shop. In this shop, there was a glass case filled with beautiful bottles of multi-colored glass. Each bottle had two different color tones on it, and so it was that Annabella selected a gold and orange one, because when she touched it, she felt the warmth of the sun creep back into her body. She asked the shop owner what the bottle was for, and he replied, "It is an equilibrium bottle. It will help bring balance back into your life." She took this bottle home and began to feel better. You may wonder what that looked like. Did she laugh again? Did she feel a shy smile creep across her face for no reason every now and then? Did she open her mouth and fill her belly with starlight? Let us say she went through all of the above.
Annabella, newly re-enspirited, protected now by the ghosts of her sister, parents, and husband, embarked on the next phase of her journey. A dream came to her that told her to purchase 7 rose bushes of varying colors, to raise them, to sing to them, and to use them to make essences for healing. And Annabella knew that there were many other people like her in the world, who had suffered losses of various sorts. So she set about figuring out how to achieve this goal. She lived in a tiny apartment and did not have the kind of yard she needed in order to best grow these roses, and so she joined a community garden. There she tended her roses and sang to them. She told them stories of how they would bless and help people. She lay down next to the plants and napped, and dreamed of their spirits. Animals came with her on these journeys of the soul, and she learned a great deal about the worlds below the surface of the Earth, just outside of the reach pf the visible eye. On a clear, cloudless, perfectly sunny day right before the full moon, Annabella found all 7 plants in a state of ideal bloom. She gently removed a single perfect blossom from each plant and carefully floated it in a large crystal bowl of water by moonlight and sunlight. She sang to the waters. From these waters, she created rose essences that she gave to friends and others who needed them: the Rose Hippolyte for the third eye, the Orange Rose for the womb, the Chinese Green for the heart. People came from far and wide to seek these essences, so lovingly and diligently created by Annabella. She began selling them, and made a living with that and also with helping people, bathing their feet, singing to them, whatever she thought of. When asked why she did this, Annabella said, "I want to give the very best of myself to whomever needs me."
The story of Annabella is not over- she lives still, and creates love wherever she goes with roses, footbathing, songs, and spirit. So, too, is my story still ongoing, as I learn how to give the very best of myself to those who need me. The 10 of Cups today is a sign that I am entering my best and most loving space, where the power of my very best will help me overcome the tendency toward the less-than-best when I feel rushed or stressed or full. The story of Annabella reminds me to take the time to be the loving I wish to see, and to make sure I do it with my whole heart. There is nothing more important that that.