May I be able...
Monday Mettā
a new + beautiful way to experience Mondays
May I be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May [insert someone you love without restraint] be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May [insert someone you have neutral feelings for] be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May [insert someone you struggle with] be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May all beings be able to live fresh, solid and free.
Fresh, solid, and free. I like thinking that each day I can look, with fresh eyes, upon something I do regularly. That I can create a routine or behaviors that help me to feel structured and solid underfoot. That I can find freedom by taking time to think and dream.
These words, or this prayer, is attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh, and is the eighth line of his Nine Prayers. As you meditate on these words, start with yourself— the importance of self-loving-kindness is vital. Then, send mettā out to others. Begin with someone you deeply love, with no complications. Move to someone you simply know, with no expectations. Then send these words to someone you struggle with, imagining them with love. Finally, send out these words to the planet.
The Nine Prayers
May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit.
May I be free from injury. May I live in safety.
May I be free from disturbance, fear, and anxiety.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and of love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in myself.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.
May I be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent.
✨
So glad you’re here.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you.
At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom until you’ve chosen your card!
Reading today from The Star Tarot Deck
Card 1: Golden Quartz Choose this card if you’d like to open yourself up to divine guidance.
Card 2: Blue Aventurine Choose this card if you’re feeling particularly affected by outside influences.
Card 3: Citrine Calcite Choose this card if you’re looking for a message in personal power.
Yoga Class Schedule:
Just yin yoga this week! 5:30pm on Tuesday, for 45 minutes. Come, settle in, and stay awhile. ☯️
Mothers’ Day and The Brigid Alliance
I have two simple links to direct your attention to.
The first is to Heather Cox Richardson’s Mother’s Day post, about Mothers’ Day—a day founded in the 1870s when, as she puts it, “the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced American women that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change modern society.” It’s a quick post to read and will help contextualize a time in history when women fought for and celebrated their special role as mothers and daughters by breaking free of regulations made by men.
The next link is to The Brigid Alliance, an organization created “to help abortion patients who are traveling long distances to reach their appointments. With our partners we are working to ensure access to essential care in increasingly hostile climates, and to fill an unmet need at national scale: together, we are closing the gap between the right to an abortion and the ability to access one.” They make sure women have childcare, transportation costs, meals, etc. They rely on donations to help women get what they need.
Let’s take lessons from the past to take action in the present.
🌗 Full Moon: Flower Moon 🌗
I mean, woah. Monday’s moon (for those of us in Eastern time and beyond this full moon is Monday, May 16th, for those in Central time and before, it’s Sunday, May 15th) is this year’s first Supermoon (the moon’s orbit is realllll close to Earth) and is also a total lunar eclipse. The Earth will shade the moon, sitting between it and the sun, which will give it a red hue. So, it’s also called a Blood Moon. For those of us in Eastern time, we can see the total eclipse (of the heart) at 12:11am a week from today.
We Support Each Other
There are three beautiful ways you can support my work writing and teaching!
Make a micro-donation, either through Buy Me a Coffee (or in my case, a love note), or after you’ve listened to one of my meditations on Insight Timer.
Book a class or an intuitive reading! Come to one of my online yoga classes, schedule a private yoga class, or contact me for a Tarot or Akashic Records reading.
Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel
xo
PS- I love hearing about the cards you pick and your related experiences! Please email me or comment below to let me know what comes up from your card reading this week! 🔮
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Golden Quartz // Ace of Swords
Divine guidance from an Ace is pretty straightforward. Go forth with wisdom. This card is all about new beginnings, specifically when it comes to mental clarity and intellect. You are being given the message that honesty, truth, and best judgement cuts through the bullshit and elevates what you do and say. Maybe you’re someone with, as they say, “the gift of gab.” Make sure your words matter—people can tell when they don’t—and that your exchanges are authentic. And most importantly, don’t let fear cloud your communication. Speak with clarity, kindness, and say what you mean.
Card 2: Blue Aventurine // King of Wands
Here’s your power card! The King of Wands is an independent, fiery, enlightened being, with strength for days. Use this card to help you find your center, your core strength (and I don’t mean doing sit-ups 🥁). Here’s a reminder that what really matters is YOU. It’s easy enough to say “don’t let what others do and say get to you,” but hard to put into action. When you find yourself taking on the words of others, plant your feet, take a few breaths, and ask yourself what YOU think. Power up. We all have a King of Wands inside of us.
Card 3: Citrine Calcite // Six of Pentacles
How fitting to get a Pentacle card here! While citrine is the stone of wealth and prosperity, citrine calcite is more about personal abundance. And this card doubles down. The Six of Pentacles is about giving and receiving, about sharing your talents, wealth, knowledge with others as a real gift to humanity. You have something special to share with the world, and deep down (or maybe it’s not that deep down!) you know it. Practice the music you long to play, write the words you hope will be read, volunteer for the groups you know need your specific brand of talents. As you generously connect more with others, you’ll become awash in your own power.
✨intuitive tarot inspired by Sarah Greenman, who was in turn inspired by Chris Corsini, because inspiration is contagious✨