Daily Angel Card: Nuada ~ Perfection, from the Gods and Titans Oracle Card deck, by Stacey Demarco, artwork by Jimmy Manton

Nuada ~ Perfection: “Love and appreciate your uniqueness and you ‘imperfections.’ Question the costs of chasing perfection. Delight in who you are.”

“The story of Nuada is a very ancient one that has woven itself into different themes and variants over different times and places. One thing that stays constant is his exploration of suitability and perfection.

Nuada is the King of Erin, one of the heroic Tuatha de Danann, which was one of the mythical ancient races of Ireland. According to myth, these early Celtic times were far from peaceful, with bloody battles being waged continuously. During one of the major battles, the Dananns, led by Nuada and his sword of invincibility, defeated the Firbolgs. The fighting was so bloody and fierce, though, that Nuada lost his right hand. This was a disaster for Nuada, as there was an ancient law that precluded anyone who was not ‘whole’ from being kind. His mutilation lost him his rule even though he was a victorious, just and benevolent leader.

The Dananns then chose Bres ans their leader. Bres, although a skilled fighter, had little of Nuada’s wisdom and fairness. The kingdom soon felt the effects of this discordant king.

Nuada’s brother, the physician Dian Cecht, fashioned a magical silver hand to replace the one Nuada had lost. Not only functional, the silver hand was beautiful too. Nuada became Nuada Airgedlamh (Nuada of the Silver Hand), again worthy among his people, and Bres steppe down from the throne.

Today, more than ever, we chase perfection, but what is it really? We often see external perfection as necessary to success. The quest for perfect beauty and a perfect body has thrown us toward a predilection for worrying about our external looks, ‘enhancing’ ourselves with too much makeup and even surgery, and obsessing over dieting and unhealthy eating habits. When did the fact that we have healthy, strong and functional bodies become not enough?

We are born with everything we need to be what we are meant to be. We are born imperfectly perfect! Our uniqueness has a reason. Nuada reminds us that to be perfect, we need not pursue some unattainable and false idea. Perfection is a subjective judgment and not an objective reality. In Nuada’s case, he was the best leader; his missing and did not take away from his great leadership qualities.”

Shadow Side: “Many people state that they are perfectionists like it is a badge of honor. While trying to be excellent and the best we can be is admirable, striving for an unattainable illusion is tiring and damaging. Remember, should Nuada show his hand to you, consider that you may well be good enough already!”

Symbols: “Silver hand, invincible sword.”

Invocation: “You may like to place a silver object on your altar as an offering to Nuada. If it is a piece of jewelry, you may wish to wear it in honor of Nuada and as a reminder of your own unique perfection!”

Light a silver candle. Say out loud:

Beloved of the Tuatha de Danann,
Great chieftan Nuada,
Hear my petition!
I feel judged.
I feel I am not enough.
Help me feel my wholeness.
Cut through my insecurity.
(State here what you need help with.)
Help me feel my birthright flood through me
like blood through my veins.
You who heal, you who know,
Guide and protect my next steps.
I honour you, Nuada of the Silver Hand!”

~ By Stacey Demarco

Sometimes we hold ourselves back for the most absurd reason: Perfection. We believe that we have to be perfect in order to deserve what we desire. We believe we must be successful, or svelte or beautiful before we get what we truly want out of life. So, in the pursuit of perfection, we lose out on our dreams. We quite literally push them away seeking something better because we cannot see what is before us.

This has to stop.

There is so much emphasis on wealth and physical attractiveness and / or fitness in our culture that we have all but lost our minds. We value people for all the wrong reasons. We put people above us for all the wrong reasons. I will not mention names…

We look at what someone else has, and if we do not have it then we assume that they are simply better than we are. In turn, we look down on those who have less than we do, blaming them for their own twist of fate. We even have labels for different parts of the world being first world, third world, etc. Many people truly believe that they cannot improve their circumstances and they focus so much on the lack or the chaos in front of them, that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

But maybe there is another way. Maybe if we valued ourselves more, it would change the world around us. If we could truly love and accept ourselves, we wouldn’t need the big bank account or the plastic surgery to prove our worth. Maybe we could judge ourselves on our own scales by our own level of peace, joy and happiness. And let others do the same. Truly celebrate our individual diversity as well as our deep connections to each other, knowing that we all have something valuable to offer, regardless of race, gender or lifestyle choices.

Rather than striving for perfection, strive for passion and joy; inspiration, acceptance and a heart full of love. Yes, we all need to get by, but we can do it without judging ourselves or others harshly. We can work together to support each other on our unique and individual life paths.

For the Highest Good Of All

And so it is

Namaste

Dee

~Archangel Oracle

*Gods and Titans Oracle Card deck, by Stacey Demarco, artwork by Jimmy Manton