Oracle Cards

It is an intercalary day today, Feb. 29th.
It was the first day when my area was covered with lots of snow.

It is a snowman somehow.

I canceled today's plan and stayed home peacefully.

One of my hobbies is cards-reading.
I actually attended some courses how to read cards a few years ago.

I often use card decks designed by Dorren Virtue.
I already had 9 decks of hers and another persons.
And I ordered more recently.

I opend the Romance Angels card deck today.

The cards inside are like these.
Very beautiful and romantic!!

I'm going to have the first pastel-therapy workshop next month this year.
I'll use this deck for the attendance.

In my Japanese-language blog, I gave readers a message by usuing this card.
The card was this below.

Love Yourself First
In the same way you love yourself, you love your partner.
If you can't love yourself truly, you don't understand what the true love means
and how much your partner loves you.
You are loved by your partner as much as you love yourself.


Japanese tend to love others first and put ourselves besides.
It is very difficult to love ourselves truley.
But these days, many of us are awaken to learn how to love ourselves and start expressing.


This is the message for you in my English-language blog.

Let Your Friends Help You
Don't have problems and distress to solve by yourself.
Your friends are always there for listening to you.
You are happy when you can help your friends.
Your friends are the same.
They'll be happy when they can help you.
Please don't take those chances away from your friends.
With them, you feel new energy and refresh yourself.
Then new opportunities and ideas come to you.


There is a manual to understand each card.
But inspiration is more important when you see those cards.
If you are interested in, please try this!
Have fun!!

I'm back!

I'm back!
I finished a challenging job last week.
I felt I was inexperienced...
But it means I can still grow up!!
Thank you very much for your love and support.
Although we are separated, I always feel you besides me.

Next month, I'll have a pastel therapy workshop and work as interpreter for healing workshop.
And I attend some spiritual workshops for myself.
Lots of exciting events and reunions!!

Then cherry blossoms season will start!
I hope tourists will come back and I'll travel across Japan with cherry blossoms!!

The warmer it is, the more excited and happier we feel!
Let's get into good trim for welcoming Spring!

Happy Valentine!!

It's a little bit early but I'll be very busy next week.
I might not say on Feb. 14th.
So it's better early than late.

Happy Valentine, everyone!!!

I wish you spend the most romantic day with your loved one!!

 

I love strawberries most!

My father bought me strawberries!!
I love strawberries most of all the fruits.
I'm really crazy about strawberries.
I seem to have loved them before I was born.
My mother said when she was pregnant with me, she ate strawberries everyday.
She herself doesn't care for strawberries very much.
But at that time, whenever she couldn't eat them, she became crazy and run to buy them, she said.
I was born in May. So she had a hard time finding them in summer and autumn.

I didn't have much appetite for strawberries this year.
But after I saw and ate them, my appetite came back!!!
I don't know why I love them so much....
I love everything about strawberries, shape, color, taste and even strawberry-motif everything.
I know I'm stupid but I can't stop....
Do you have something like my love for strawberries?


According to our calender, today the Feb. 4th is the first day of spring and 2012.
This is the sun of the first day of 2012!!





Special ceremonise on Feb.3rd

Thank you very much for visiting my blog while I didn't update these days.
I have been busy starting new things now.
I might be slow to update my blog for a while but I'm well!

It has been very cold in Japan.
At the Sea of Japan side, there are much snow and people have a hard time.
At the Pacific Ocean side, there are not much snow but it's very cold and we have small earthquakes more often these days. The epicenter of some tremors are near Mt. Fuji which is classified as an active volcano. The last eruption was in 1708. You know what we are afraid of now...

We are really looking forward to spring and warm weather.
According to the calender, Feb. 3rd is the last day of winter and the 4th is the first day of spring.
Considering our weather now, spring doesn't seem to come yet.
Of course not! It's because our events were originally based on the lunar calendar.

We used to use the lunar calender until 1872.
We closed our land until 1868 and our culture and tradition were protected under the seclusion policy.  However, after lots of controversies and battles, we opened our land to foreign countries and lots of foreign culture including the solar calender were brought to Japan.

The government declared  Dec. 3rd, 1872 was changed to Jan. 1st, 1873.
Many things like ceremonies and agricultural events were based on the lunar calender until 1872.
However, after the government's crazy declaration, everything was changed and the ceremonies were not suitable to the season anymore.
I don't blame that but the more deeply I understand our events, the more I realize they are not suitable to season any more.

Anyway, Feb. 3rd is `Setusbun', the last day of winter and the end of the Year.
We feel the true 2012 starts on Feb. 4th called `Rissyun', the first day of spring in Japan.

At Setusbun, we scatter beans, shouting `Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi' meaning `Devils Out, Fortune In'.
When we shout `Devils Out', we scatter beans outside house like driving out evil spirits.
When we shout `Fortune In' we scatter beans inside house like beckoning the good luck deities.
Then we eat as many beans as our age. If you are 20, you eat 20 beans wishing you health for the year.

Since there aren't small children at home, this tradition has disappeared.
But my family started this again.
It was fun!

There is another tradition to conduct on Setsubun on Feb. 3rd.
We eat a special sushi roll called `Eho Maki'.
Eho literally means good luck direction.
Maki means roll.

This is the sushi roll nearly 25cm.

Egg, cucumber, mashes and seasoned fish, and something I forgot are included inside.
In order to show inside, I cut them. We often eat these kinds of sushi rolls.
BUT! on Feb. 3rd, we shouldn't cut them and eat the whole at once without speaking, facing to the good luck direction of this year.
This year's good luck direction is North-northwest.

This eating a whole sushi roll at once tradition is very popular in the western part of Japan.
It became popular past few years in the northern part of Japan.

We tried this year!
But all my family failed....
It was impossible to eat the whole at once.

Anyway we enjoyed this traditional event this year!
I feel like I'm ready to welcome spring!!!