A Guest Appearance from Ella Wilson

Greetings to all Toads, near and far! Today it is my great pleasure to introduce as our prompt host, none other than Ella Wilson, one of the founding members of The Imaginary Garden With Real Toads!

Hello Toads!  Kerry and I reconnected this spring when I discovered her beautiful tarot card images on Instagram.   She is so, talented!    I took a leap of faith and was doing a tarot challenge.  She nudged me to participate in #NaPoWriMo2019, in April and I did.  Kerry mentioned perhaps sharing Tarot in the Imaginary Garden and invited me to stop by and share this prompt.   Thank you, Kerry~

Tarot came into my life when my mom bought me a mystical game for Christmas.   I found the game on Ebay and discovered the cards associated with the roulette wheel and glow in the dark marble were Tarot cards.   My mother’s inquisitive nature set me on this path.   I believe we all have the sixth sense.   Tarot for me is part history, mystery, mythology, and a language of visual symbols.  I read intuitively and I  hope today’s prompt will encourage you to pen a poem using your sixth sense.

We are all familiar with the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words. “  -Fred R. Barnard 
As poets we know, “…..a word may well be worth a thousand pictures.”   -Wald Amberstone
I believe Tarot can be used as a life map. Let’s dive in…

There are 22 Major Arcana cards and these have the strongest messages.  We began with The Fool, a young adult setting off to discover the world-not fully aware of his/her surroundings, who meets people who advise him/her and he/she learns lessons along life’s path.   The last card is The World where we feel we have accomplished a goal.  When we decide to set another goal, we will set off again on another adventure as The Fool.

There are 78 cards in the Tarot, 22 of these cards are the Major Arcana - they have Roman numerals on them.  Sixteen Court cards which include Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings which correlate with the 16 personalities in the Myers Briggs. Click for a graphic display!

The other 40 cards as well as the court cards are aligned with four suits with cards Ace thru Ten.

Wands = creativity and align with the Fire signs in the Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Swords = thoughts/ideas and align with the Air signs: Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
Cups = emotions based on the Water signs: Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio
Pentacles = abundance and represent the Earth signs: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

OUR CHALLENGE

Here are three decks - select the symbol (feather, shell, peacock ore) or deck you feel most drawn to. I will show you three cards from each deck for you to use to inspire your poem. The key is to pick out symbols that stand out to you. When I read, I pick out symbols that catch my eye. For example, the Death card, in most situations, is about transformation, not death.

STEP ONE: SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SETS OF CARDS.

STEP TWO: WRITE A POEM BASED ON YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE CARDS

PLEASE NOTE:
YOUR INTERPRETATION DOES NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THE TRADITIONAL READING OF TAROT, BUT MAY BE AS MAGICAL AS YOUR OWN IMAGINATION.
ELLA HAS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE CARDS COULD REPRESENT PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE AS SEEN FROM LEFT TO RIGHT.

THE SHELL DECK

Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot
Fair Use Principles

(MAGNETISM)
THE EMPEROR
5 OF CUPS
7 OF SWORDS

THE FEATHER DECK

Vision Quest Tarot
Created by Gayan Sylvie Winter, Jo Dose
Fair Use Principles

(MOTION)
BALANCE
INTEGRITY
SPIRIT GUIDE

PEACOCK ORE DECK

The Smith-Waite Centennial Deck
Fair use Principles

(PERCEPTION)
3 of PENTACLES
2 of WANDS
THE MOON

You can find Ella on Instagram @ellasedge and read her work in Bella Grace Magazine: spring and summer editions.
If you use Ella's photos, either on your blog or on Instagram, please credit/tag Ella's Edge.
All photos displayed in this post are copyright of Ella Wilson, and Used With Permission.

The Edge

Yes, I fell off the grid-for a bit.  I had some health issues with my thyroid and decided my Debbie Downer mood needed time out.

 © Ella Wilson

I put my house on a diet. I had kept too many things, children's artwork, school papers, odds and ends of fabric, yarn and much, much more.   Being a military family-we usually move every two to three years. My husband's orders forced us to face the music and go through our household goods-sort,  toss, and give away items we no longer used and had out grown.   (He is retired.)

I want to end my Debbie Downer cycle.  So, let's not concentrate on what we have out grown, but what we will never out grow!   My first thoughts are:   Love, laughter, the ocean, the stars, flowers, rainbows, the sky's color, words, rebirth of spring, puppies, music, movies, and much, much more.   

Poets, writers and artists seem to be able to keep their inner child alive longer, than most.   So, pen a poem about what you will never out grow-what will always delight, inspire, and amaze you. 

P.S.  Did Peter Pan enter your thoughts?!   Me, too.

 

 

Personal Challenge, Ella

When Sherry challenged me to share my art and write a poem-I breathed a sigh of relief.  I was tagging my art to submit to Stampington & Company.   I had just finished making three journals for A Gift for an Artist Challenge.   Sherry loves nature-my new nickname for her is WOW-Wild Owl Woman.  She is very insightful and full of ideas.    I decided to let Sherry pick the art to inspire my poem.  I have written articles about what inspired my art and always find it revealing.  I was intrigued to see how my art would  inspire a poem.  I think all creative types need a place to pen their hopes and dreams-this inspired my journals.

  

Hope keeps us going on our journey, no matter how many storms we weather.  

Forbidden Love

Lunar tickles light n'

embraces Sacred Oak's

bare branches

 Lunar swims towards night owl perch

as Oak scribbles love notes 

soul's cross illuminates the sky

Oak speaks of velvet purple mountains

red Cardinal's feathers

n' dandelion wishes.

Jealousy rained on Oak's green penned poems

Hurricane Mariah bent his frame

he snapped into fragments.

A man came-lugged him away

Lunar cried pearl tears missing

his board bare shoulders.

Man carved Oak's trunk

to sail blue's labyrinth haze

Lunar discover Oak and mirrored light

to wash over him-together again.

Quicksilver flash captures their love

but

salt wore out his bow

Landlubber again. 

Another man bought scraps

serenaded by the sea-LM and SO had secretly eloped.

Man carved a walking stick 

to witness celestial ballet-but no

an Oak wood umbrella 

to catch Lunar's Swarovski crystal tears. 

 A famous poet tends their

 children, in her moonlit garden.

She keeps Lunar's and Sacred Oak's secret.

Green stars perform lullaby in a clothesline of blue

-as proud parents watch. 

©Ellen Wilson

Thank you Sherry!

Ella's Edge

Hello Toads, hope the New Year is off to a great start for you~  I have been cleaning my FROG=Furnished Room Over Garage, lol. Frog is not a bad word. They are our cousins after all.  I am going through some of my things-it is time to reorganize, let some things go and sort through my supplies.  I was looking at  some magazines and found this, when this article jumped out at me.  The Power of Wow-written by Anne Lamott.

".....Wow, is often uttered with a sharp intake of breath, when we can't think of another way to capture the sight of shocking beauty or destruction, an unbidden insight or unexpected flash of grace."

What do you think of when you think of wow?  When did you last say the word?  Was it in an awestruck way or due to destruction?   Things Anne mentions that are wow:  volcanoes, a bird's song, the veins in a leaf, the northern lights, and a teen's reaction to a car at Christmas.  Anne expresses that wows come in all shapes and sizes, lowercase and uppercase.

Then there is the scary wow of storms that create sadness, death and destruction.  We are a loss for words and all that comes out is "wow".

She reminds us to look at what emerges from the wreckage.   She reminds us that love falls and it rises and pools around those affected.  "Love pulls people back to their feet and we heal.  After a forest fire, with time grass grows again and the sun rises!  Wow..."

I want a poem about wow!  Your choice on the size, shape and form of it.  Remember to wow us with your words~   ( I know I thought "Wow" when I read Corey's n' Shay's collaboration...didn't you ;D)

Hello Toads, Kerry stepping in here to take the opportunity to thank Ella for her wonderful prompts (18 in total! Wow!) which have been a part of Real Toads since its inception in July 2011. This is her last formal contribution, but we will continue to enjoy her company as a valued member of the Imaginary Garden.  

Ella has the edge on cooking up poetry

When Kerry offered to let me choose a member of Real Toads for my first cyber-interview, I chose photographer-artist-poet-cook-baker-wife-mother Ella of Ella's Edge because I like her style. I not only like her writing style, I also like the way she looks at life. Her outlook and enthusiasm are infectious—in fact, downright contagious. She might not have had all her wants handed to her on a silver baking sheet all her life, but, to use her phrase, she "bakes and makes" the best of what she's got—and that's a lot!

~

This is what Ella has to say on “the gift of poetry”.  

I think of photography as visual poetry, a frozen moment, a recaptured mood. I see poetry in a smile, in one's hands, in a caress. Poetry, for me, is a way to paint with words.

Isn't that beautiful? And so is Ella.

Here she is:

~

Kay: You recently said your favorite high school teacher thought some of his students should be writers, but you never thought it would happen for you. At what point in your life did you decide you were a writer after all?

Ella: Writing re-entered my life in April 2010, when I joined the A-Z  blogging challenge hosted by Arlee Bird.  I found the challenge at the end of the first week in April. The idea is to blog a letter of the alphabet 6 days a week, with Sundays off.  It was fate, I found this challenge.  It forced me to come up with a theme for each letter. I thought my catch up post was clever. I went to the garden section of a home improvement store and did a combined post.  I could have done the whole alphabet, but didn't.  X was a real challenge, but I pushed through it.  I met some amazing writers and made a lot of new friends. It was an eye-opening experience. This is when writing came more into focus for me. I did the 2011 challenge and I am considering writing poetry for the 2012 challenge.

~

Kay: Do you think writers are born, or made?

Ella: Ooh, good question. I am going to say both. I do think some people are born with a natural gift and others have to develop the skill, by reading, experiencing life, and writing.

~

Kay: You sell your photos in your Etsy shop—have you considered using any of your poetry for Etsy items, in greeting cards, for instance?

Ella: Actually, I am working on some craft ideas incorporating my poetry. I started a few journals. I would love to do cards, not sure how the response would be. I won't know till I try.  

~

Kay: Your response to Kenia’s challenge to write a poem based on a metaphysical question seemed (to me) effortless. Do you think the apparent effortlessness is part of your writing style? Or are you prone to thinking in a metaphysical way?

Ella: This makes me laugh, it wasn't effortless, but thank you.  I love nature and think of the ripples in our pond called life. Yes, I guess I do write in a metaphysical style. I hadn't thought of it in that way, thank you!  :D

~

Kay: On your blog’s sidebar, you say you’re considering culinary school. Is it still a serious possibility, or have you decided to be content with cooking up poetry instead because you do it so well? 

I’m not suggesting you can’t do both, so this doesn’t have to be an either/or answer.

Ella: Thank you, I would love to make'n'bake a book!

I still would love to go to culinary school, but I don't think it is in the cards.  I have a business degree, but have always loved to bake. I started baking at age 7. I used to have a store on the weekend and sell my baked goods, to the kids in the neighborhood.  

I need a physical signed off for culinary school. I go every year to the Dr for the review, but I have a back injury that won't allow it. I guess cooking up poetry is enough for me. My kids tease me about putting a cooking show on Youtube. I'm still considering it, lol.  What would my name be? The Poetic Pantry or perhaps Metaphysical Meals.  

I am now considering taking some writing courses to see where this may lead. 

~

Kay: I was so impressed when I read about you inheriting your mother’s extraordinary gift of recall. Does your superior memory help or hinder you in your writing?

Ella: My memory is more autobiographical. I tend to remember things that happened with emotional impact, good and bad.  I can remember in great detail, what I wore, who said what. It can be a help, but it also has haunted me a bit.

~

Kay: I know what you mean. I call them “memories with all the feelings attached.”

Now, you mentioned your son has the kind of memory you inherited from your mother—are your children like you in any other way? Or are they like their dad? 

~

Ella: My son is writing poetry. I was so pleased and impressed, when he showed me some of his poems. He also is working on a book. He is still in college studying Industrial Technologies, so this part would be more like his Dad. My daughter is expressive in music. She has written a few stories. English is her favorite subject (more like Mom).  I have noticed she has moments that remind me of my memory, so the deciding factor is still out. 

~

Kay: When did you start blogging? And why? When did you start contributing to Real Toads? And why?

Ella: I started blogging in May 2009. I thought of it as a birthday gift to myself, a way to express my voice, my creativity. I had no idea where it would lead me.  

I joined Real Toads as a way to push myself. I think trying new things, sharing ideas is a great way to push through boundaries. I like being with people who understand and appreciate my efforts.

I still need to go back and try some of those prompts that I hesitated to try. 

"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience." —Henry Miller

~

Kay: You are a college grad—what was your major? Why? And is it still of use in your life?

Ella: I majored in Business Management, so not me. I am more the creative thinker, the marketing type.  It was useful in my last job; I was an AssMan (think Seinfeld's lingo) Assistant Manager at a Curves facility. I loved my job, but I wasn't going to move up. The owners were the managers, all six of them.  It was the best, worst job I have ever had. I loved the clients, and getting paid to work out, but trying to please all of the bosses, just dreadful.  I didn't want a business degree, but my Dad talked me out of becoming a starving artist (his words).

~

To find out more, click on this link to Ella's November 17 post on the subject “Who Am I?” In my humble opinion, it answers questions about Ella that I might never think to ask.

http://ellasedge.blogspot.com/2011/11/think-tank-thursday_17.html