This was originally posted at Ginger's Journey on March 13, 2009.
Well today's focus is brought to us by Tobaira of the Waters. Let me start out by saying that this is the first focus card that has presented reversed. I'm not sure if when focusing we are to look at the reverse of the card or both. With the other cards even though they presented right side up, I sort of wove all aspects of the card into our reflections and so I will do that also but just felt inclined to mention the reversed status.Tobaira of the Waters is a healing faery.
She presides over the healing powers present in water. We have all heard of the Fountain of Youth...well there are other supposedly magical water sources also. There are wells and other places that bestow healing, skills, or wisdom on people. For example the Hippocrene fountain in Mount Helicon gives one great poetic skills. One drink and the drinker acheives a certain level of poetic skill, another brings more and a third allows the person to be at a poetic "high".
Tobaria and other healing faeries work diligently to keep healing waters, springs, and other sources from becoming contaminated by many things in the human realm. Not just pollution but negativity etc. Faery waters reflect the emotional state of the humans around them. Words that speak of Tobaira are: serenity, meditation, and graceful acceptance of change. (The Faeries Oracle, Text by Jessica MacBeth, copyright 2000) For more information about the Faeries Oracle you can visit
Faery Wisdom or
World of Fround.Tobaira speaks of change particularly emotional change. Like water emotions are fluid and ever changing. We have choices about where to head..."toward the calm flowing purity of the faery waters or the boiling cauldron of hot temper and steamy emotions" (MacBeth, 2000, pg. 126). Reversed Tobaira may speak of "emotional needs not meet or a thirst of the spirit or emotions" (MacBeth, 2000, pg. 126).
Now I need to move into other archetypes that may have this description and lastly my personal thoughts about Tobaira. We must keep in mind that our personal thoughts and ideas are just ask important as what any "expert" tells us but I do enjoy enriching my own thought processes by examining different views.
Well....hmmmm....finding specific archetypes that are like Tobaira of the Waters is proving to be difficult for my muddled mind today. There are plenty of "healing archetypes" and there are plenty of references to water so I will share a couple of those.Archetypes that are healers are plentiful...they may be a spiritual figure, physician or even a therapist. The need for wholeness is strong so throughout history there has been much focus on healing...very often spiritual. Many references to water include references to its healing benefits. And we can also see this is Christianity with the baptisim ritual with water and with Jesus washing us clean of sins.
In addition, in archetypical terms water is often the symbol for the unconscious. Along with others like caves, the forest, the night, and the moon. These tend to be feminine images because most of them that enclose or nourish or viewed as female. I think the whole idea of water and the unconscious speaks to the idea that healing the spirit is VITAL to our existence perhaps even more so than healing the body.
In my search I found a blog, that seems quite interesting...First of all the title
Emerging Crone is well....just interesting...and then the blog description: "Guaranteed to thrive where planted, Flowering ecstatically in the garden of my soul".....well that is just cool!!! I just did a little looking around but I plan to go back and read some more later. The entry that came up in my search had to do with rain. Okay...rain...water...you following that whole line. Any way at the end of her post she posed these questions. I think they fit a bit with our reflection today. "What gifts does the rain bring you when it comes? What dams are needing to be breached so you may flow to the sea?" (The Emerging Crone)
Now I would reword those questions for us today as we Focus on Tobaira of the Waters:
What gifts does Tobaira of the Waters bring you?
What blocks need to be overcame so that you may become the person you are meant to be?
My thoughts on Tobaira of the Waters:
First the reversed presentation: Hmmm perhaps telling us that we all need to get in touch with our emotional selves and that are spirits are "thirsty" for us to provide them with a cool drink of water to refresh them.
This is a card of choice: cool calming faery waters or turbulent, boiling emotions. We have to recognize that we have a choice and we make the choice.
Also I think of the fluid changing nature of water. I think the water represents what we need at any given time......in other words we find what we need NOT what we seek. Sometimes they are the same but not always.
Reversed the card also speaks of calming down and quieting the waters before making decisions...probably never a bad thing.
Water...we are like what made up of a large percentage of water.... does that mean we have the healing power of water inside each of us...but we just need to figure out how to access it?
The Ocean: as Kelsey can attest...I'm a big lover of the ocean...the largest body of water on the earth...does this speak of me or to me in some way? I mean I like lovely walks in the woods and mountains and other naural settings...but to me NOTHING is quite like the Ocean!! Watching it for hours as time slips by quietly.
Well, dear readers, I could go on and on forever...but there are thoughts for you to think and now is the time for you to do so.
Actually the 0 Card is the first card in this deck, it is a blank card designed for each user to created their own personal faery guide....mine is Dragonfly and I will need to take a picture of my 0 Card to post here. It is a simple black sketch of a Dragonfly but it serves the purpose well as my own faery guide. It is actually one of my favorite cards.....BUT on to Card #1 Unity.