As we approach Lughnasadh, I’ll be going back to Marshall Terrace Park in Minneapolis to peer out at the new Great Blue Heron rookery on their new island home on the Mississippi River.  While I’ve been pondering and meditating upon The Heron and it’s journey, my new tarot deck arrived!  I’m thoroughly enjoying developing my reading and intuition from The Wildwood Tarot, by Mark Ryan, John Matthews, and Will Worthington.

In  my very first reflective reading for myself, interestingly enough, The Heron was the first card drawn!  What a welcoming message!

The Heron is able to stand and be still, staring into the waters below, for hours at a time. In some mythology, The Heron is the bird that peers into the Pool of Wisdom to witness the birthing of the Earth and all of life stemming from it.  The Heron is also the symbol of the birth of all life, and therefore we see its images being associated with “The Stork” which delivers babies.  In some Druid and Pagan traditions, a Heron Bag (or Crane Bag) is carried by the wanderer on their path to enlightenment.  In the Heron Bag are stones, magical items, coins, acorns, or whatever the wander keeps in order to infuse connection and wonder with a grounding in the earth and all of its mysticism.  The Heron bag is the traveler’s bag of magical secrets!

When we ourselves, like The Heron, stare into waters in our bioregion (our own Pools of Wisdom), we often see the world as a reflection.  We see the world and ourselves as we truly are, as seen by the Pool of Wisdom.  In this vision, sometimes for the first time, we are able to stand in our own truth of ourselves or our current situation.  The secret connections are revealed if we are able to be still and gaze upon the waters.  These waters flow in our bodies, our blood, our sweat, our tears.  The Pool of Wisdom is both outside and inside of all of us, and is available to show us true wisdom, should we choose to approach it in stillness.

In the coming months of Autumn, then Winter, these Heron in Minnesota will ultimately meet the clear truth of their situation, just as they have for all of their ancestral existence on Earth.  Their peering into the water has shown them for who they are – as nest builders and survivors in the evolutionary cycle of Nature.  Perhaps the “Blasted Oaks” of their previous rookery have ushered in an awareness of further human encroachment and the possibilities of a change in our northern climate.

Perhaps the Pool has opened an evolutionary window into their sight – and an opportunity for our own seeing. Poised on a “River Between” man’s urban industrialization and Nature’s swift winds of change, they chose to rebuild their nests after all was lost.  They will carry through with the incubation and raising of their young, allowing the waters of the Pool to reflect back the ultimate fate of their young when it is time to either migrate, or face the reality of further loss, should winter come swiftly before the young can fly.

The Great Blue Heron’s crossroads is our crossroads. Can we be still to see the reflections of our actions within the Pool of Wisdom?  Will we carry on to survive the impending crises that could befall us, or will we  be shown our ultimate fate, reflected back in the form of the swift axe of Justice? Will we be prepared for either situation?

Recently while I was browsing YouTube late at night, looking for any new videos about Indigo Children or Druidry, somehow I happened upon Angelo Nasios and all he had to say about his experience as a professional Tarot reader.

The cool thing – he’s young, incredibly knowledgeable, has a snappy and infectious sense of humor, and he’s doing all the right things to position himself as an expert in what he’s passionate about – Reading the Tarot!  He posts regular videos on YouTube, has a business website, a tarot blog, and also uses facebook to show others his passion.  I don’t even think he’s barely 23 or 24, but he’s doing everything right with regard to our “new era of social media” and what I call “expert soloprenuership.”

As a web designer and coach for solo business practitioners – I can safely say that Angelo’s web presence can teach quite a lot!

So I decided to friend him on facebook and also buy a reading!  Angelo delivers his tarot readings via email, but they are just as inspiring, passionate, and sometimes full of the same wit he displays in his YouTube videos.

I’ve been changing a lot too, so for my 2-card reading, I asked a simple question (ha! – simple..hmm.) – What is my path to self-improvement or self-actualization?

You can download my reading here to see what his work is like!

So because I have also been there as a soloprenuer with passion (heck.. I’m still there), I want you all (yes all of you!) to get your own reading from Angelo, even if it’s just a 1-card reading.  Go Get it HERE!  NOW! Spread the love for this up and coming rising star, and maybe learn some things about yourself in the process with the question you ask.

To buy a reading from Angelo Nasios and learn more about him and the Tarot visit his websites!
http://www.angelonasios.com/

http://www.thatstotallytarot.com/

 
Lughnasadh and The Great Blue Heron

Podcast Highlights:

Song:  Wild Mountain Thyme – by Marc Gunn

I would love to play your music!  To submit music and poems, or to be interviewed – email me!  scott@northerndruid.net

*My year-long break – a year in Minneapolis, Changes, Forgiveness
*Personal and Business Coaching ventures – being absorbed in my web design work – www.holisticgeek.com
*Strife and Healing from life in Duluth, MN.
*Life on Oak Grove Street in Minneapolis, biking on the Cedar Lake Trail on the edges of urban living and Nature.
*Wasafarm healing from break-in, finding your footing after being off balance

Song:  Fireflies – by John Grant

*Lughnasadh (Loo-Nah-Sah) in Celtic mythology and stories.
*May 22nd tornado in Minneapolis’ North Side, Great Blue Heron rookery destroyed.  200 Herons lost.
*Herons re-nesting near Marshall Terrace Park along the Mississippi River.

Upcoming Lughnasadh Teleclass Meditation dedicated to the Heron – FREE!  July 31, 8:30pm Central Daylight Time (GMT -5) – Links and information coming soon!

*My re-dedication to this podcast at every FULL MOON.
*Visiting Susie Kleppe, the Faeriologist (www.faeriologist.com) and my Faerie Reading (from Brian Froud’s Heart of Faerie Deck)

Song:  Learn to Fly – by Josh Woodward

Poem:  The Exposed Nest – by Robert Frost
(accompanied by Kathy McTavish – www.cellodreams.com)

Thank you!  Next Podcast – August 13, 2011 on the FULL MOON.

This is the first of a series of posts about the Great Blue Heron. More to come soon!

On May 22, a tornado ripped through Minneapolis’ North Side, devastating many parts of probably the most economically challenged part of the city. Downed trees and powerlines, roofs ripped off buildings, and homes and small businesses with a range of damage – up to the flattening of some. For three days, a curfew was in place to clear the debris, and city buses (a lifeline for many residents of the North Side) could not get through. The North Side is still recovering over a month later.

Another story of hardship relating to this storm was that of the devastation of a long held rookery of Great Blue Heron nests on an island in Mississippi River Park. 200 nests were destroyed, and 180 Herons lost their lives, many of them heron chicks. Wildlife workers reported that this was a devastating loss to the heron community. Sharon Stiteler’s “Bird Chick Blog” has a very thorough post with photos about the damage. As she says, “It is just beyond words.”

At the same time.. there is now hope!

About two dozen Great Blue Herons have renested on an island downstream on the Mississippi River, near the Xcel Energy plant. These nests are visible from Marshall Terrace Park in Minneapolis (take a trail then a walkway of steps down to the River to see them – bring binoculars if you like).

Some Herons have made some interesting “artificial nests” – a testament to their steadfast attempts at recovery.

While many Herons appear to be incubating, Great Blue Heron chicks reach maturity after three months. Many are hoping for a mild fall so that these new fledgelings will be able to join their elders in migrating southward for Winter.

Today I ventured to Marshall Terrace Park to see the new nests. I did catch glimpses of a Heron flying above the trees, but they move fast! Next time I hope to snap a photo, as I will be back. If you look closely, you can see a Great Blue Heron nesting at the top treeline near the left in the closeup photo below (click the photo for a larger image or download the full image here – 1 MB JPG).

I believe there is so much we can learn about resilience, loss, devastation, and the rebuilding of life from the experience of the Heron in Minneapolis. I will be sharing more soon, as the Great Blue Heron will be my focus in a number of ways in the next coming weeks with NorthernDruid.  Stay tuned.