Rushed off of our Feet

Yesterday was exhausting. My mother and I packed up much more of our stuff and lifted some things down from the loft. My dad did help a little, but due to his health, had to stop. If he exerts himself, he gets twinges of pain, which we have learnt from the past only gets worse, so we forced him to rest. My mum's leg is still playing her up, so I tried my best to take on the more physical stuff, which pretty much wiped me out too. However, we got a lot done and called it a day at 8.30pm.

I read up a little more about yesterday's Irish God of Love before sleep. I was most interested in his house in the background. It is called Brú na Bóinne and sits on the River Boyne (which I am guessing you can see in the slither of blue at the back of the card) in Leinster, Ireland. Dating somewhere between the 35th and 32nd Century BC, it is now mainly referred to as Newgrange. It was especially interesting to see a photograph of the building from the card. Finding out more about it and Oengus mac Og kind of completed my understanding of the card for me, leaving no stone unturned.

When I woke, it was drizzly outside. Our removal men turned up around 9am, as anticipated. We had thought they were going to put just a few boxes into the lorry to store over night in their warehouse, but they ended up loading it up with far more. They cleared the loft, took most of the furniture and have taken the bulk of everything else, which will make it so much easier for tomorrow. There were three young guys and all of them were extremely hard working and friendly. They worked for about five hours. I helped as much as I could, which is probably why I feel so whacked this evening. Having said that, as with the work I did in schools this year, it is a 'good' whacked. I feel as though I did my fair share and helped my parents out as best as I could.

My mum's friend drove us over to the new house this evening. Even though there is still some stuff in it that needs to be cleared, we managed to clean it; hoovering all of the carpets, cleaning away dirt which has manifested while the house was unoccupied, and washing the kitchen cupboards and surfaces. Even though I have the biggest bedroom, it is by far the one in most need of decorating. The old couple who lived there before had floral wallpaper and the craziest brown and caramel patterned carpet you have ever seen. Standing in there is like slipping into some kind of bad drug experience, so I am pleased that my boyfriend has agreed to help me get rid of the decor as soon as possible. As with everything else there, we are aiming to give it a nice lick of white paint.

I feel as though I have already left this house. This room, where I have entertained so many people over the last twenty-odd years, now feels temporary. I guess it stopped feeling like my room when we re-decorated to sell; or maybe even before then. Regardless of our awful neighbours, I think we outgrew this place a long time ago. We have been through so much here and we are in such need of a fresh start. It's hard to believe that this will be my last night in this room though, and that it will belong to someone else tomorrow. I believe that everything that has happened here is somehow held within the building in spirit. There has been so much energy amongst these four walls. Two different ladies from the neighbourhood came and visited today, bringing cards of well-wishes for our new home. They are old-timers, who have been here as long as we have, if not longer. Both know only too well what the cretins next door are like too. Can you believe that Oddbod stared through our window today to see what was going on and tried to smile at my dad!; after all that has happened! He didn't smile back.

Today's card, the Courtship of Knowledge is equivalent to the 3 of Pentacles in traditional tarot. It depicts the Milesian poet Amairgin and mastery within work. I hadn't expected our removal guys to do quite as much as they did today, but their professionalism and warm natures are reflected in this tarot key. My parents and I have been rushed off of our feet too, so I guess that this card represents physical work and the achievements that come with it. In the story accompanying this card, Amairgin approaches the three spirits of the land for their help in producing the best effort in their situation. I think it interesting that we worked with three removal guys, who's knowledge and expertise assisted us in supporting our goal too.

After two and a half years of trying to move, I can't believe that we are just a few hours away from the day we set up home in a new house. It's kind of scary and kind of sad and kind of exciting. We still have more to do at this end, so it is early to bed, with the intention of rising early and finishing the job.


Illustration from The Celtic Wisdom Tarot by Olivia Rayner