Happy birth-day to us

Celebrating my daughter turning 3 and the day I was born as a mother with a quick tarot ritual

Today marks 3 years since my daughter was born, and 3 years since our birth-day. On this day my entire existence, and course of my life, shifted on its axis to now rotate around this tiny being, whom I already loved so much but had only just met.

The past 3 years have been the hardest, most beautiful, triggering, magical, exhausting and rewarding of my life.

I had an idyllic vision of the mother I thought I would be. And I am certainly not her. Becoming a mother has unearthed a fierceness and rage that I didn’t know I was capable of feeling. That in itself has been a whole scary process of getting acquainted, and learning to love, this new angrier version of myself.

Raising a child has pushed me to my edges, poking and prodding the hidden and unhealed parts until they’re raw and can be ignored no longer. I have healed and learnt more about myself in the past 3 years than I ever did in the previous 30. And I have my daughter to thank for that

I cannot wait to spend this day celebrating with her. She is strong willed, sassy and sensitive, and I will do everything within my power to nurture those traits in her so they stick. My girl loves marshmallows, owls, singing and visiting the ‘beach house’, which is where we decided to be this weekend (a house in Wales belonging to my in-laws).

I also wanted to take a moment to celebrate myself today (I believe all mothers should do this because we deserve recognition too!) and how far I have come on this wild journey of motherhood. Becoming a mother has been nothing like I thought it would be. That idyllic vision was shattered the first time I lost my cool and yelled at a screaming baby. It may be nothing like I thought but it’s also so much more that I ever could have imagined or prepared myself for. The gifts being a mother has given me are endless and priceless, and I am grateful beyond words that my daughter chose me to be her mama.

Here is a quick and simple tarot ritual I used to honour myself during this time of celebration…

Shuffle the deck until it feels complete and then move your way through your cards until you find The Empress, the fierce nurturer and ‘mother’ in the tarot.

~ The card below is what lessons you’ve learnt in motherhood so far. How have you changed and grown since becoming a mother?

~ The card on top is the mother you’re growing into. What does the coming year of mothering have in store for you?

~ And finally, take a look at the card on the bottom of the deck to reveal what kind of mother you are.

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As always, I would love to hear if you try this ritual and if there’s someone you know who may enjoy it, I’d love it if you could share it with them.