Who I am…
In the afternoon in the workshop with James Wanless about the Family Cards of the Voyager Tarot yesterday in Amsterdam, Face up I chose the Achiever, Man of Worlds (Knight of Pentacles, but different), for who I am.


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I have been to Amsterdam today for a workshop of James Wanless, the creator of the Voyager Tarot. Visiting a workshop from him years ago made me enter the tarot world. I learned a lot from James, his approach to tarot, the ease with which he makes spreads, and the way he works with groups. I forgot my camera. There was a colorful market nearby (Bos ( Read more... )

In a poem Magtild of Magdburg writes:

Each creature God made
must live in its own nature.
How could I resist my nature
that lives for oneness with God?

Today I wondered, what is my nature that it lives for oneness with God?


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In a second hand bookshop in Hilversum where I had to spend some time last Saturday because my daughter had a choir rehearsal there, I have found the book “Living with It Daily. Meditations for People with Chronic Pain”, by Patricia D. Nielsen. I like this book. It is down to earth, honors little things, and does not set the aim too high. My ( Read more... )

At Station 12 Jesus dies on the cross. The sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country. Jesus cried out: “Father in your hands I place my spirit. After that, he died.


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Yesterday I was all day in Amsterdam. Part of the time I have spent in the new library in the Oosterdokkade, next to the Central Station. It was exhilarating to be and read in this building. It is seven storey’s high. The front has a view on a river and behind the river is the centre of Amsterdam. On the front side of the building are windows from ( Read more... )

At the fourth station of the cross Jesus meets his mother. When something terrible happens to children, when they become serious sick for instance, mothers often say: “I wish it had happened to me. That would make it more bearable.” It is extremely hard to live your life while your child suffers, or to live on when they die. It is the same for ( Read more... )

Jesus was exhausted.
He was in pain.
He was going to his death.
The cross was heavy and he fell.
He was flesh and blood like us,
he was struggling.
                   From Eggs and Ashes, Wild Goose Press

The third station in the Way of the Cross depicts Jesus as he falls under de heavy weight of the cross. This station asks us to contemplate where ( Read more... )

Just as the day before yesterday I have pulled a card that I am not sure I understand. I read the story of the sick man at Betheseda. In that place is a pool. The one who is the first in the water when the water ripples, is cured of his illness. The sick man is never fast enough to be the first at the pool. Jesus cures him. He says to him: “Stand ( Read more... )

My card for Ash Wednesday is inspired by a poem.

Ashes and Penance

Ashes

-powdery-grey
from keeping on trying
to get a spark from two stones

-streaky black
From relighting a candle
That keeps going out

-soft white
from a fire that burned down to its heart
and kept everyone warm

these are ashes worth wearing

Penance

for self-absorption
-many hours ( Read more... )