The energy of the Father/Shaman coin is that of a protector existing on the threshold between worlds; he stands guard between the personal world and the professional world, between family and society, between inner and outer worlds. He is the warrior-soldier in mundane life and the warrior-shaman in our spiritual life. I believe that current affairs on the mondial scale is the reason this coin comes to our casts so often. He alerts us to the necessity of keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. 

Dear readers, I apologize. A dark period, a spiritual winter so to speak, has been sweeping my inner landscape and in its icy embrace I have not been able to deliver a Daily Cast for a long, long time. According to this mornings cast, this day is about choices and I choose not to let myself be discouraged any longer. It is time for me to end the my hibernation and go out in the world again. So this is the message that the Raven Coins have to offer you today: Choose, and choose with conviction. Take matters in your own hands, because not choosing is also a choice, thus creating a  scenario in which we allow are agency to seep away, condemning ourselves to a random outcome. So let's do this, the choice is ours to make.

Sometimes we are so involved in the chaos of events that we don't really know what is going on anymore. We are too reactive and not controlling the situation at all but instead feeling overwhelmed and not up to the task. So let us take a step back! Breath in, breath out, repeat. What is it we want to accomplish? Do we have to run around and do everything ourselves?  By just creating some distance between ourselves and the situation we are trying to manage we gain oversight and that in turn will inspire us to handle things differently. 

There is a good chance that we meet somebody today who is a leading figure in their field. It might be in the literally sense, like a manager or CEO or it might be in a figuratively sense as in somebody that is really good in what they do. In any case, lets follow somebody else's lead today, no need to worry; we are in capable hands. 

 Everybody needs structure, fair boundaries and safety but what we often get is chaos. So we are all seekers in this respect: longing for friendships and communal ties that provide us with the stability we crave. We ourselves play an active role not only in our own safety but also in that of others. So let us make sure we do not only seek to get the proverbial shelter from the storm ourselves, but also seek to provide this to others. Life is sometimes challenging and we need to get each other through it. 

The Elf is eager to start something new. Enthusiastically he explores possibilities, gathers information and buys the necessary equipment. This new endeavor can be anything ranging from work-related project to moving to an new house to going on a trip to starting a new business. Half the fun lies in the preparations, so let's enjoy this time of getting ready!

I did something different this morning than usual: instead of just picking the coins and make an interpretation, I asked the coins a specific question: what do we need to do to be better equipped to deal with the day-today challenges that we encounter?

The Crystal Skull is warning us today not to get stuck in antiquated ideas. Just because an idea is old doesn't mean it is right! So let us do some soul-searching here; are we holding on to convictions that have outlived their usefulness? Do we allow principles from the past to stand in the way of our future? Time to unstuck ourselves and free up our mental capacities to embrace new and useful ideas!

We invested our time, our money and our best efforts in our  'children', both literally and figuratively, and now it's time to let them go. Whether we are talking about actual children or whether we are referring to our projects, our creations or our students doesn't change the outcome; we did what we could and now it is time for us to let them go. We just have to be confident that we gave them all they needed to be able to stand on their own two feet.

"If only I had the talent", or, "I will never be as good as..." We are our own worst critics, we don't dare to take up painting, or to sing or to dance and constantly worrying if the result is aesthetically pleasing to others. If only we could be playful and creative like a child every now and again, enjoying ourselves without holding back! It is important to create moments in our lives in which we can express ourselves, unencumbered, without boundaries, as free as a the Gods intended us to be. Let's find s moment of creative joy today and let making moments like that into a hobby! 

Today's theme is about protecting our boundaries. The Father coin is here to help us with the task. This particular cast can sometimes be very literal in it's meaning, in which case it refers to an actual, benign father-figure in our lives that has made us feel safe and protected. In that case it might be a good idea to pay this person a visit if we can. Let us be thankful for every border that protects us and for the people that maintain them. And if nobody does the protecting for us, we need to put up our own boundaries and protect them ourselves, whatever other people may think about it. Safety is to important an issue to be overrun by good manners.

We cast the Honeybee together with Zenith and the Ally: a sure sign that the social groups we belong to are on our mind. In my country the elections are upcoming and people are redefining their role within the collective. It is tempting but far too easy to attribute our hardships to 'the others', whether they are racially, politically, sexually or philosophically different than 'we' are. And we see this happening, not only in my country but all over the world. 'We' want to blame 'them', and if 'they' just go away/behave themselves, would be 'normal' (like we are) the world would be a better place. The daily cast urges us to contemplate our own role within the collective. Are we being helpful? Do we personally make the world a better place for everybody? What can we do to make it so? Let us realise that we are all 'different' to someone and let us ponder our ideas about exclusion versus inclusion.