The Thaw
Drips and dribbles
pat and patter
as ice melts away
and snow disipates
overnight
so that the morning
dawns
with a combination
of wet sheen
rippling puddles
and dripping bits
of icy remnants
of frozen rain
and heavy snow
writing challenge
Gideon’s Challenge
Winter Temptation
Frozen paths
and thigh deep snow
keeps us inside
when the desire
we know
digs in deep
to tell us to play
but it’s
too damned cold
to go out today
maybe tomorrow
we can play
and have
a fit of fun
before the snow
melts away
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Arctic Climes
Bitter cold
and biting winds
a world frozen
and ground covered
in white
as winds whip
snowflakes
to and fro
while building
drifts
against the sides
of homes
as people huddle
in warmth
and wait
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
The Grass is Greener
Now that snow
covers the land
and everything
is encased in ice
I long for green
in rich
and varied hues
and the drip of moss
from low branches
instead of
icicles
Honestly?
I just want to go out and take some pictures, but the temperatures are too low to go out and play in the snow.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Too Dry
Cold weather
saps the moisture
from breath and air
and skin
as well
as forehead itches
and backs of hands
roughen
there’s not enough
lotion
in the world
to bring skin back
from this
chapped dry state
and still…
I try.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Hermit
Prompt: “Pull the Hermit card from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the card provided below and the card(s) from your own deck(s). How would you read them differently and why?“
Tarot of the Hidden Realm – A crone in the wild among craggy mountain rocks, she wears a symbol of death in the skull over her heart and a hag stone for vision around her neck as she climbs among the rocky landscape. This card speaks of the need to spend time alone in reflection, but hones down into that reflection being about change and how we react to change. Self examination of our response to change can be a powerful thing, and in this card there is a need to consider our past reactions (the Hermit faces towards the past), why we react as we do, and how we can deal with changes in a more graceful manner.
Christmas Storybook Tarot – Rudolph lead the sleigh through the winter storm for Santa, and in this image his nose shines bright through a storm he treads through on hi own. This card encourages solitary reflection placed towards where hope lies in our hearts. What is the shining light that guides us forward, and how can we utilize that to our benefit as we move through the more difficult times we may be experiencing or need to confront moving forward (Rudolph faces in the direction of the future).
Snowland Tarot – Here again the Hermit faces towards the future, and while the path at his feet is smooth and easy, the mountains in the distance illuminated by his lantern make it clear it will not always be so. With the book riding his back and the direction he faces, I see this card as more about planning for the future than about reflecting upon self improvement. He looks outward, and seeks to see what is to come so that he can prepare, and this card suggests that the querent needs to do the same.
The Christmas Tarot – As in the traditional RWS that this deck is a clone of, the Hermit in this card faces towards the past with his head bowed and lantern held high. The staff provides stability while the Hermit looks within himself at his past, learning from his mistakes and getting to know himself better through introspection and self-examination. He seeks to take what he has learned from the past and sort through these memories and experiences in order to become wiser for the effort.
Twisting the Leaf 