At the bottom of the nest lay the ugliest little egg Mother Goose had ever laid eyes on. All her other eggs were beautiful: gleaming and golden; creamy and white; soft and smooth. But this one, this one was different. This one was hard and dull, dark and jagged, rough and edgy. This one bore the blackness of the night, and the heaviness of a crow. It was unbefitting for a nest of Mother Goose; so, she buried this particular egg far to the back, trying to forget about it while she tended to the eggs that otherwise filled her nest with joy and happiness. She sat for days and days and days; she sat for what seemed like eternity, until eventually all her beautiful eggs began to hatch. They cracked open to reveal silky, golden offspring. Mother Goose was instantly in love, yet these offspring quickly abandoned her, already eager and ready to explore the wide world around them.
Mother Goose was perplexed, “All that, for nothing? All that for my chicks to take off without so much as a glance in my direction”. She stirred in her nest, fowl and angry. She began to clean and prepare for the next batch of eggs to lay when she noticed that small, hideously dark egg that remained nestled in the back under the remnants of the broken, hatched shells. Mother Goose nudged it, and it seemed to nudge her back. It wiggled, and she jumped. It wiggled, and it cracked, and then it wiggled some more. Mother Goose watched the blackened egg for what felt like hours, unable to peel her eyes away from this egg she was repulsed by. Finally, the crack widened, and out sprang a tiny midnight blue goose. She looked at it, and it looked back at her. She cocked her head to one side, and it cocked it’s head to the other. She stretched her wings ever so slightly, and it stretched it’s wings ever so slightly more.
This Goose of the Night continued to look at Mother Goose with something akin to adoration in it’s eyes. “Thank you,” it said in a soft and silky whisper. “For your time, your warmth, your energy. For building this soft nest, for tucking me in the warm back, for staying until I hatched too. Thank you for your nurturance, your tenderness, your care.” And, without another word, the midnight goose took off as the others had. This little goose, however, headed straight for the skies and Mother Goose watched as her unwanted chick painted the skies black and glittering gold. Mother Goose looked after the young goose in awe and wonder; she starred into the sky that was painted for her, and even though this offspring too had left her, she was filled with a sense of gratitude as her eyes glistened with stardust.
This month, we find ourselves in the energy of the Ten of Pentacles and Black Egg Spirit, a potent combination and a welcome time to renew our regular gratitude practices. It is very easy for us to take things for granted – to fixate on only one or two matters that overwhelm and cloud our judgement; or, to allow the small things to go by unseen and unnoticed. When we fail to live in a space of appreciation and gratitude, we live instead in a space of negativity and expectation. This will often cause us to go about our lives from a place of anger, disappointment or resentment. While I acknowledge that these are regular and typical emotions, to live constantly in a state of resent or anger only breeds further negativity and discomfort.
And so, the Ten of Pentacles reminds us that we are often surrounded by the very people, places and things that we need to appreciate the most, but that sometimes go unnoticed. We focus on the “other” when instead we should be focusing on what is before our very eyes. What are the things you do each day that provide you with support, stability, structure and purpose? Who are the beings that lift you up throughout each day? Who is it that is there for you tirelessly and who you can turn to in times of need? Where are the places you go that provide you with guidance, safety, warmth and security? With the Ten of Pentacles guiding us into the month of August, it is time to draw our attention to these things, time to broaden our scope of appreciation and gratitude for the little things that generally go unseen.
Black Egg Spirit helps us to put the concepts of gratitude and appreciation into practice by asking that we make them real and tangible. It asks that we give voice to our gratitude and turn it into a practice that helps us incorporate appreciation into our daily routines. This does not have to be a complicated practice deep in ritual and cumbersome in time (unless that is what works for you); no, make the practice work around your schedule and routine. Make it work for you. Perhaps you can start your day by recognizing and thanking five things for which you will be grateful for throughout the day – identify them before you get out of bed and then be mindful of these things as you go about your day-to-day. Or, perhaps you want to end your day writing a detailed journal about the five things you were thankful for that occurred during the day. Or, perhaps your midday break is the best time for you – while you grab a refill on your coffee, you take three minutes to type into your Notes App the five things that fill your heart with joy and gratitude. Whatever it is that works for you, do that and really do a deep dive into strengthen your gratitude practices over the course of the month. Notice how this effects you, how it changes your demeanour and mindset, how it impacts your mood and wellbeing. We can all dwell on what we are lacking, what we want, or what isn’t meeting our expectations until it festers into negativity and loathing; or, we can shift our mindset to focus on what we have, what is there and what already brings us warmth, compassion, positivity and life. Ultimately, the choice is your’s but clearly we can see what the cards are urging us towards this month and trust me, the cards always know.
