Lady Spring calls the earth forth to awaken from winter’s dream, heralding a time of renewal as she breathes new life into the seeds that have slumbered all winter long. A new cycle of life commences as nature responds with green shoots, gradually painting the landscape in cheerful colour, and creatures begin courtship rituals.




This Friday marks the start of the vernal equinox for us here in the Northern Hemisphere: the first day of spring! Many cultures and religions around the world celebrate spring as a time of rebirth. There is Easter, Ostara, Passover, Maslenitsa, the feast of Cybele, the festival of Isis, No Ruz and Higan – to name just a few! 

Traditionally, the first day of spring was important to our ancestors, marking the return of lengthening days and the warmth of the growing sun. This was cause for much celebration with the start of the new year cycle; the marriage of the sun (male) and the moon (female) bestowing the earth with fertility and new life to blossom forth.

The Easter rabbit originates from Pagan mythology, with the rabbit (or hare) as a messenger of the moon gifting the goddess with precious coloured eggs, symbolising life. Many cultures have their own folk lore and legends associated with painted eggs as a symbol of fertility and birth; nowadays we tend to enjoy chocolate eggs and decorate the house with baskets of spring flowers.   

Whatever our beliefs, we observe spring as a time of new beginnings, starting afresh and sowing seeds for the year ahead. And this Friday promises to be quite spectacular: Eclipses and Supermoons and Equinox, oh my! 

If you haven’t already seen mum’s article on charging your cards on the Solar Eclipse you can read it here. We've got ours in the window ready :-) And don’t forget to make your wish on this powerful new moon!

Ems x

The other day my father-in-law asked me how I dealt with negative cards appearing when I read for others. He said it must be hard to deliver bad news, so did I skip over them? I answered of course not!

When friends or clients come to us for a reading we would be doing them a disservice just to gloss over the thorny issues. More often than not they've come for a reading because they’re facing a problem, so to downplay the cards or ignore them completely is counter-productive. Look at it this way; you wouldn't go to a doctor if you thought they weren't going to tell you the whole truth.

Yes, giving bad news can be unpleasant, I cringe a little bit when I lay the cards down and there they are . . . the “baddies”. But I would feel awful if I hadn't covered them and then watched my friend go through a difficult situation without warning.

Because that’s what the cards can be, not everything is set in stone and some situations can be alleviated or even avoided, a favourite quote of mum’s: forewarned is forearmed. If the future of their finances doesn't look very promising then they know to budget now and delay that spending spree!

So how do you approach giving bad news? We try not to be so subtle that we skim over it, but equally not so blunt that we seem inconsiderate – find a happy medium. Imagine how you would like to hear it; practise your delivery with your own personal readings – because at some point it will be needed!

This gives them the opportunity to take different steps to improve the situation. Responsible reading is being able to deliver the good news and the bad, in a way that is sensitive to the seeker’s needs.

Ems x

It's World Book Day today! 

Since 1998 in the UK, on the first Thursday in March, school children have received a £1 book token, which can either be swapped for a World Book Day special release or used as a £1 voucher against any book in all UK bookshops. 

As a charity, it supports Book Aid International (http://www.bookaid.org/) and Readathon (http://www.readathon.org) - their work brings books to those less fortunate.

As a schoolchild I used to love getting my token and heading off to the bookshop, as a bookseller today I loved seeing all the children come in to choose a book to dive into! One young man in particular stood out today, he told me that he helps out in the school library, and proudly pointed at his "Librarian" badge, bless!

Another fun part of World Book Day is the costumes! Children get to dress up as their favourite characters for school, and there are some fantastic outfits (just thinking about it gets me all broody and itching to make costumes for our not-as-yet-existent children)! And as someone who loves fancy dress, I think the adult costumes are brilliant too.

So for this week's blog I've compiled a collection of some adorable, clever, and imaginative costumes over on Pinterest. Has your child taken part in WBD today? Have you worn/made a literary costume you were particularly proud of? If you have photos please share them with us (we love pictures!) In the meantime head over to my World Book Day board and be amazed :-)

https://uk.pinterest.com/Emsleby/world-book-day/


Happy Adventures!

Ems x