Spirit of the Water
An image of the Queen of Cups card from The Somnia Tarot which we sell in our shop.
I followed my pup Pinto Bean along the creek by my house to help her find frogs. She isn't too adept at catching them, but she is put into a space of pure joy with the chase. I almost caught one myself, it's soft belly between my fingers, but it got away. I love frogs. I won't hurt them, but I do like the sense of communing through touch, even if I recognize it may be an experience they could do without.
On this particular creek trip, I touched my first leech. I've known about leeches. I have a vivid memory of the leech scene in the movie 'Stand by Me.' But even with all the ponds, creeks and lakes I've been in, I've never actually interacted with one. This leech attached itself to my foot and I pulled it off, it was slimy and squishy like a slug. I wont deny, I did not like it. I also saw a tiny water snake, white and grey patterned, and FAST. And I found a spring!
As I walked along the creek bed, I came to a dry offshoot of the creek, full of rocks and virtually empty of water. My barefoot landed in a small puddle among the rocks that was really cold, much colder than the creek I had been walking in. I crouched down and started to dig at the water site, pulling out silt and rocks, and, as I dug, the basin I was forming continually filled up with cool water. The silt I stirred up created a haze in the water, and allowed me to see spiraling formations rising from under a larger rock, where the water was moving up out of the ground. My eyes welled up with tears and I thought in that moment, “This is the most beautiful experience I have ever had.” I have wondered how people find natural springs, I finally did it! I used some of the larger rocks to line the sides of the basin and I made a circular alter at the source of smaller, lovely stones the spring had smoothed and softened. I kept three beautiful small stones for myself. I sat at the basin and waited for the water to clear, then I used the clear spring water to wash my face. It was one of the best moments of my life. Maybe that sounds outlandish, but it really was. As I hiked back to my house, I thanked Pinto Bean for helping bring me on that journey and I thanked the forest and all of life for existing.