This year, 2019, numerologically, is a “three” year (2+0+1+9 = 12; 1+2 = 3).  I’ll share much more about the numerology of 2019 as we move through the year, but in this first blog post of the year, I want to focus on three aspects of the power of three: the celebration of the journey toward embracing the trilogy within, the three primary aspects of the circuitous route of walking a labyrinth, and finding balance in life.

In the Waite-Rider Tarot deck (and many other decks) the Three of Cups depicts three women in a circle, cups raised in celebration.  At their feet is the harvest of the season.  Sometimes these three women represent aspects of myself  – mind/body/spirit, ego/id/super ego, my maiden/mother/crone aspects (regardless of chronological age!).  Sometimes they represent sisterhood with women friends.  Sometimes they represent community, regardless of gender.  Always, because of the fruits and vegetables at their feet, they remind me that I reap what I have sown, and will sow again as the circle of my life continues to spin.

“All my life’s a circle….” wrote Harry Chapin.  I find this true in my life.  I spiral closer and closer to a center-point of understanding, and then seem to be catapulted back to the edge of the abyss with more lessons to be learned.  Is this true for you too?  What can we do differently so that we walk with awareness into our center, and bring back out to the edge an understanding of ourselves and the world around us each time we cycle through the spiral?

On most New Year’s Eves, I walk a labyrinth etched in the stone floor of a local church’s sanctuary.  This 13-circuit labyrinth is identical to the ancient one at Chartres Cathedral in France.  Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one path in to the center, and the same path back out.  There are no false turns or dead ends.

According to Dr. Lauren Artress in Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, there are three primary aspects to walking a labyrinth. Our journey inward toward the center of the labyrinth is a time of “purgation,” or releasing, empting and quieting.  It’s about shedding those thoughts, emotions, and connections that separate us from our Higher Selves and our Higher Power.

“Illumination,” the second phase of the walk, occurs when we reach the center of the labyrinth.  We are often surprised when we get to the center because the paths that lead us there are circuitous and seemingly illogical.  It is here, in the stillness of the center, that we gain insight if we come to the center with an open heart and mind.

As we wend our way out from the center, retracing the same path we took toward it, we reach “union.”  This union occurs both within and without ourselves.  We feel grounded and insightful, able to let go of that which no longer serves us.  Often we are charged with an energy to go forth in perfect love and perfect trust.  We have confidence to take risks and to be our authentic selves.

As a year number, three represents a year of public recognition for accomplishments.  It is a year of finding internal balance. The teeter-totter “two” year that was 2018, as it transitions to 2019, now gets the fulcrum it needs – a center point – upon which the ends must balance.  Three represents balance, imagination and wholeness.

My word for the year is balance.  I seek a balance of mind/body/spirit.  I seek a balance of learning and adventure with quiet reflection.  I seek a balance of introversion and extroversion. I am aware there will be both moments of light and dark during my journey through 2019, and while that can be intimidating, it also is a reminder that lessons often are learned in the dark times.

I invite you to join with me in this three year as we work toward creating a balance of three in our lives. You’ll be hearing more ways in which you can connect with Three throughout the year.  In the meantime, I wish you a blessed new year.

Blessed be,
Deb