Flag Oracle #19: Exposing the roots

and releasing the restrictions

Hello friends,

We’re 19 weeks along this 24-week journey of exploring the Flag Oracle. Whether you just joined or have been here all along, I’d love to get your thoughts about the emails. What have you liked? Do you have any favorite posts or individual cards? I took the time to number the posts; you can view an archive here.

Looking back is relevant to today’s reading, so let’s see what’s in the cards.

Over many years of growth, a tree’s roots reach across a dry stream bed in search of nourishment. Sometimes the water isn’t directly beneath a tree; the tree has to reach out to find it. Paired with the Fun Factory flag, this card encourages you to look at the trajectory of the roots that nourish your joy. Alternatively, it could be an opportunity to look at the roots of another person or situation.

Are the roots obvious to you? Have they begun to wither, or is the path strong? Take a look and see. Perhaps the pathways can become new lifeforms of their own, like the moss growing on these roots. If looking at another’s roots, what can you learn that will inspire you moving forward?

To get to this site, I went around a fence with a sign that read “NO HIKING — AREA CLOSED,” and then found the view of the waterfall obstructed by the restriction of a fallen tree. Public sites are restricted for many reasons: to promote habitat restoration, to protect breeding animals, or to prevent exposure to hazardous conditions. Sometimes the restriction is temporary, sometimes it is long-term, and sometimes it is permanent. Less than six months later, this fallen tree was broken apart by severe winter storms, but the sign was still there for me to ignore.

You may be facing a restricted area of your own. In the Night Position following the Exposed Roots card, Restricted Area invites you to see the roots of a restriction you’ve been grappling with. It may be a limiting belief from childhood, a popular myth, or something you put aside while you dealt with other things. The No Questions flag invites you to accept the wisdom in that restriction and understand the blessings of what you did instead.

You’ll know if it’s time to tend that root and grow something new after the habitat has been sufficiently restored. If it’s not time, what can you tend to instead? Trust that you’ll find the activities or relationships that support the ecology of your life.

Getting down to the metaphorical roots

On days when I draw the Exposed Roots card, I’m always surprised that the conversations I find myself in offer useful background information that gives me perspective on a topic. Lately I’ve been working at The Writers Grotto office and twice I’ve drawn the Exposed Roots card before driving in. One day, a board member filled me in on the recent governance changes. Another day at lunch, fiction writers talked about their writing process. One said he writes his drafts by hand in a notebook while the other starts by building his fictional worlds in a spreadsheet.

An urban view at the Writers Grotto

There are so many ways to get the same result that it’s worth investigating what assumptions you have that restrict you. Perhaps the barriers you thought were there are gone, or your interest in the bright shiny thing has passed.

Seven months after encountering the dead tree blocking the waterfall, I passed the Restricted Area sign again and found the dead tree mostly gone. Without the tree, there was no suitable place to hang my flag.

This droopy flag photo didn’t make it onto a card or into the Flags in Mind show.

Instead, the Restricted Area image gave me a story to tell. Our lives wouldn’t be so interesting without the stories, would they?

Have a revelatory week!

Love,
Lee Ann

P.S. Please comment or reply with your thoughts on the Flag Oracle readings these last 19 weeks. I’d love to know how they have inspired you! I’m working on a submission proposal and your input could help the Flag Oracle reach more people beyond the 115 current subscribers. Thank you so much for your support!