respect

What stands out for me on this card lies, mostly, in the middle section.

I am not going to interpret every symbol and colour on this card because, as you can see, there's a ton of symbolism and colours on this card. I am only going to interpret what has caught my eye.

The angels want us to consider this week, the concept of respect.

Do you have respect for yourself?

Do you have respect for those around you?

And what does that mean?

Do you have a kind of degrading sense of humour about yourself, where you're trying, in a comical way, to always put yourself down? If you do, you're lacking in self-respect.

If you're going through life in a very black and white manner where your views and your beliefs are the only true beliefs, and you can't seem to consider that other people will have different beliefs and opinions, you're also not showing respect to others.

The first thing that stood out for me on this card was the beautiful lady in the card. And there are a few aspects of her that I want to consider.

First of all, the dress that she's wearing. She's wearing this white dress. It's a very simple dress that's also very close to her skin. It's almost like a piece of underwear, it's so close to her skin. The colour white here feels really important to me because white is the colour of Source energy and the Universe. And it's saying to me, wear respect in the same way that you show respect to the Universe and to the Divine, to Source energy, whatever word you wish to use. Because, you're wearing this dress like a second skin because you are a part of the Divine, a part of Source energy, a part of the Universe. You're not separate, you are a part of Source energy. So if you cannot show yourself respect, it goes to figure that you are not showing Source energy, the Divine, whatever word you choose to use, you're not showing respect there either. So wear respect as if it's your second skin.

She's wearing a crown on her head. And the crown, it's also where the crown chakra is. The crown, for me, is talking about strength and power. Power from a positive point of view, not power over anybody. Respect is not about gaining power over anybody, but it gives you great strength. Because then you have respect for yourself and you can blossom and can become a lot stronger as a person because you've stopped belittling yourself, you've stopped putting yourself down, you respect who you are and you can stand up and stand proud for who you are as the unique individual and soul that you are. And it brings power with it. Like I said, not power over other people, but a power and a strength to be able to stand up in your own skin and show people who you are.

One thing that really caught my eye on the card, I don't know if you can see it, there's a face on the card (just behind her left arm), and I wondered if Angela Hartfield does put faces in her cards, hidden, in the same way that Colette Baron-Reid does in one of her decks. But I looked through some of the cards and I didn't see a face in all of them. And this feels quite important to me. It feels to me that, when you show yourself respect and when you show others respect, it's almost like people come out of the shadows. You're standing tall and you're someone that they can look up to and they start to come out of the shadows and they start to learn what it's like to respect others and to respect themselves by simply looking at you as an example.

Her hair. Her lovely purple hair. Purple, to me, is the colour of angelic connection. It's saying that when you have respect, you have a closer connection with the angels, similar to what we said about the white dress. You're respecting yourself and, therefore, you're respecting the angels, the spiritual and angelic realm, the Divine, the Universe. It all links and comes together. And it feels like there's a lovely breeze flowing through her hair. As that breeze flows through her hair it's showing up her whole aura. Her aura is the colour of the rainbow. Every colour under the sun. And rainbows are all about positive change and expansive blessings. If we think about the positive change that a rainbow brings. After the rain you see a rainbow in the sky, that lights you up. It's a beautiful thing to see but you cannot see a rainbow unless you have had rain; you cannot go through total respect for yourself and for others unless, perhaps, you have been challenged in regards to respect before.

And, perhaps, you have also been like the face in the background, in the shadows, where you've been putting yourself down or walking through life with only one point of view, not able to consider anybody else's. And then, whenever you take on respect for yourself and for others, it's like a lightness comes through you and positive change takes place.

The other thing I want to talk about here are, I don't know what they are, the firework-like things on the left of the card. Again, we have rainbow colours around them. And it's almost like a celebration, for me. It feels like, when you show yourself respect and, therefore, are able to move forward and respect other as well, it's like the angels are setting off fireworks in the sky. They're celebrating because respect is so important. Respect brings growth. It brings development. It enables you to stand tall and step forward in your spiritual journey. And when you are able to do that, the angels are going to celebrate you. It's a lovely ending to the message on this card about respect for yourself and for others to enable your development, your enlightenment, your growth, your awakening.

When you do respect yourself and others, not only are you respecting yourself and others, but you're respecting Source energy, the Universe, the angels, the spiritual realm because you're wearing them like a second skin because you are part of that realm, you are a soul being. When you show respect for yourself and others, the angels are having a party for you, they're setting off the fireworks, they're celebrating because it is something to celebrate.

Reference: This beautiful card is from Whispers of Healing Oracle Deck by Angela Hartfield, artwork by Josephine Wall