Medicine Woman Cards

9 of Stones (Pentacles)

Sharing the Wealth

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

What do you know that you could to teach? You might be surprised that what you take for granted is a much needed and basic skill for someone else. In the above card we see a woman on her hands and knees planting a garden. A child stands by watching, learning. The woman has done this dozens of times yet it may be the first time the child has had the opportunity to watch and learn. I love this card as it has so many layers of activity.

The woman was once the child who also had to learn. Someone taught her so she, too, could pass the wisdom and skill along. Being an expert, the woman knows how to just do the job, but she takes the time to carefully teach the child all the steps it takes to make a garden. First, the idea of the garden must happen. Then a spot must be chosen based on many conditions such as sunlight, permeability of the soil, water source, the length of the growing season, and of course, what has worked or failed before. The soil must be prepared, seeds brought in and planted at the most opportune time. The seeds must be watered correctly – not too much and not too little. The difference between a seedling and a weed has to be recognized. As the plants grow they may need to be thinned out. And what to do about the inevitable bugs that show up? The woman/teacher knows what works in her garden – she has seen plants fail and plants thrive. She knows when to plant the greens, the corn, or the squash. She knows about the usual growing conditions and has seen the extremes. She knows to plant above a flood line or to avoid the area that is full of stones. To the child, it is exciting, overwhelming, and all new. 

We are each a treasure trove of experience, information, knowledge. Much of it is collective and seems commonplace – we know how to read, do basic math, and drive a car. But not everyone knows even the simple things we take for granted. And, we each hold our own unique mastery representing years of study, commitment and devotion to what we do. We are healers, writers, ceremonialists; we are adepts and masters of The Mysteries. We are parents, friends, teachers, mechanics, bakers, tailors and dancers. We have experienced and survived the painful sides of life as well as learned how to throw great parties in celebration. 

My parents and grandparents planted by the Llewellyn Moon Sign Book and had fabulous gardens. The publisher collected information passed down through the generations and then shared it so that knowledge would not be lost. When we teach what we know to someone else, especially a child or a student, we pass along our wisdom for someone else to have, to explore and to use perhaps in new ways that we did not ourselves know. Even the seeds in the garden are teachers. They hold the secret life of the plant locked within them, yet they teach us that a seed cannot grow unless it is put into the ground where it basically dies- gives itself away - to be reborn as a new plant – Osiris risen in the green field….

This is generosity. This is the great give-away of life. We cannot hoard our resources: if we do not give away what we know it is lost. My grandmother made a killer Hungarian Goulash but she did not write down her special recipe and none of us knew exactly how to make it – grandma’s delicious secret died with her. 

Don’t let what you know be lost. Teach, share, give; celebrate your unique storehouse of wealth, wisdom, experience and expertise. Give it away. It will all come back, renewed, replenished, and your garden will continue to thrive and produce beauty and abundance long after you are gone.

…Kathryn Ravenwood  09/08/16