Our card for the month of April is The Well of Segais from The Celtic Oracle Deck  by John Matthews.

It represents the element of water and reminds us of the power and critical importance of water. Water makes up 60 percent of our bodies and over 70 percent of our planet. Pure, clean water is critical to our survival and yet we continue to pollute it. Just before I drew this card, I was reading that water is now listed on the commodities exchange - along with cattle and grain. How sobering the think of this natural, essential, Universal Gift of Life itself is being traded like stock.

As April showers prevail this month and will grow May flowers, perhaps the card is asking us to take time to be grateful for water, to find ways to protect its purity and stop its waste.

There are a number of Irish  legends about  the Well of Segais. All have these elements in common;

Water – one of nature’s 4 elements, the well-spring of Life

A hidden and sacred well – there are many sacred wells in Ireland. This one is said to be the source of the Boyne River. ( the valley of the Boyne cradles Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth)

9 Hazelnut trees-  tress too were sacred to the Celts

5 Salmon- although only one shows in the picture, representing the oldest animal and the wisest to the Celts, there are 5 living in the well according to all the legends.

Acorns- The acorns that fall from the trees into the well are eaten by the salmon and thus make them wise.

All are meant to remind us that wisdom comes from understanding the interconnectedness of life and honoring the nurturing elements Nature has given us.

In drawing this card, Matthews suggest we take a journey to the Well of Sagais. So, let’s do so:

Relax your body, focus on your breathing and enter into meditation.

With soft eyes focus on the image of the well on the card or if your imagination prefers, travel to this most sacred of wells along the river Boyne.

Watch as the stillness of the pool is broken by the ripples from the salmon beneath the water.

Observe the trees stretching up to reach the sun. Be in the stillness.

Listen for the acorns to drop and plop into the water.

As one of the salmon surfaces and jumps to catch an acorn, ask for its attention and guidance.

What wisdom does it have for you?

Pause and consider its message.

Then if you wish, ask the salmon if you too might have an acorn.

Honor its reply and leave with the wisdom it offers no matter what form.