Peaceful
The sweet scent
of spring rain
lingers
in the air
as clouds
skim
among treetops
in the
early morning
light
Gideon’s Challenge – Peaceful
🌑 New Moon in Taurus – May 2026
Tomorrow is the new moon, and like all new moons and full moons, I did a spread aligned to the moon’s current themes as a part of my recognition of the moon’s cycle and influences upon us. Today’s spread is courtesy of @wildwomansisterhoodofficial
What in my life no longer feels aligned with who I am becoming?
Queen of Pentacles – You are burnt out on caring for others and their needs. The elder care that became a part of your life a few years ago has bloomed into something more than you are able to handle. As a result, you’re feeling particularly burnt out in this area. This means that sometimes you just don’t care as much as you feel like you should.
Where am I being asked to slow down and trust the unfolding?
Ten of Swords – You have a tendency to try and push through unpleasant experiences in an effort to reach the end and something better on the other side. Instead, sometimes it’s important to linger in those experiences, rather than trying to plow through them, in order to discover and better understand what they have to offer you.
What would it feel like to stop forcing and begin listening?
Three of Cups – More celebration and less seriousness. More connection and community, less solitude.
If you were to stop forcing everything and turn your focus to listening instead, you would be able to connect more fully and closely with those around you, and find more joy in those connections.
What kind of life would truly nourish my body, mind, and soul?
Temperance – The kind of life where you allow yourself to slow down and savor, instead of always pushing for more than you currently have. Although you’ve been working on this for some time now, you still have a long way to go and still spend quite a bit of time chafing instead of savoring the moment.
What seeds am I planting now that I hope will bloom in the seasons ahead?
Knight of Cups atop Knight of Pentacles – You are learning how to enjoy life more by connecting with and understanding your emotions and how they influence your reactions. You understand that this is a slow process, but continue to seek out this understanding of your emotions, and with it, a better understanding of your wants and desires.
New Moon advice from the Minoan Goddess Amalthea.
Nine of Swords – Take care not to allow your worries and fears to rule you. When you give them free reign, the gather speed and force much like air currents can compound upon each other, causing a breeze to turn into a windstorm. Don’t give these fears the air to breathe, and they won’t be allowed to grow into something formidable to deal with.
Other elements included in this reading:
Goat Figure as Sympathetic Representation of Amalthea
DECK USED: SHADOWSCAPES TAROT
Finding the Positive for May 12 – 14
May 12 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 12th : Creation
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Ten of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of satisfaction and stability in the area of one’s finances, resources, home, health, manifestations, and the physical world. This often translates into themes that have to do with hard earned success, accomplishments, abundance created through patience and hard work.
Just because you succeeded at something doesn’t mean that there won’t be more opportunities to come. It just means that you have bolstered your confidence for the next step in your journey.
Sometimes that next step is starting over, while other times that next step is leveling up in those things that you’ve already been working on. In either case, just like we don’t want to linger in the stagnancy of failure… we don’t wanna linger so long that success also becomes stagnant and stale.
The message in today’s Ten of Pentacles and the “creation” prompt is a reminder that even when we are at the end of a successful journey, there’s still more to come that we need to stay open to. It’s great to enjoy your successes, celebrate them, and share them with others. Just don’t use them as an excuse to shut down your awareness of other opportunities still to come or the willingness to pursue them.
DECK USED: VANESSA TAROT IN A TIN
May 13 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was
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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Within Prompt for May 13th : Introspection
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Temperance card, which is traditionally a representation of moderation, balance, slowing down, practicing patience, and can at times represent a connection between the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
The Four of Pentacles really caught my attention in this deck, to the point that I was surprised that it didn’t pop out as the card for today until I realized that… it kinda did.
To explain, we have to look at my dragon-esque tendencies, especially when it comes to my deck collection. I mean, look at that smirk in the Four of Pentacle’s illustration. That’s me with my decks. That smirk inspired my introspection of the day, even before I knew it was today’s prompt.
The thing is, even if I don’t particularly like a deck? Once it’s in my collection it may stay there indefinitely regardless… and that’s a problem.
This is where the Temperance card steps in. The Temperance card speaks of moderation, which is (obviously) not my strong suit. It’s still needed, though, even if it’s not particularly easy for me to practice.
The message in today’s Temperance card and the “introspection” prompt is an encouragement to look at those things where moderation is difficult for you, and consider why that’s the case and what you can do to help foster the moderation that is not enjoyed but is needed.
In my case, I think perhaps it’s time to do a cull on my collection. Why hold onto the decks I don’t enjoy, after all? (Other than those that were added to the collection specifically to work with specific clients, at any rate.)
DECK USED: WHISPERS OF DREAMCATCHING TAROT
May 14 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Within Prompt for May 14th : Depth
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the High Priestess card, which is traditionally a representation of intuition, secrets, sacred knowledge, mystery, the subconscious mind.
Look deeper.
In my opinion, that’s what the High Priestess card is almost always about in one way or another. It’s about looking deeper. Deep deeper within ourselves, deeper within others, and deeper within the universe at large. It’s about seeking out the secret knowledge that hides beneath what is readily and easily available to us.
This card encourages us to take the “deep dive” needed to explore the subconscious and the secrets that reside there. To get to know ourselves better, and in doing so, understand others and the world around us better as well.
The message in today’s High Priestess card and the “depth” prompt is an encouragement to be curious and open to exploration. Secrets and hidden knowledge awaits you, but only if you’re willing to dive in, do the work, and delve into the depths to find the information you seek. It’s not going to be handed to you on a platter, even if it’s already within you waiting to be discovered. Inner knowing and wisdom take time and effort, curiosity and exploration. Dip in and let your curiosity flourish.
DECK USED: TAROT OF THE KINGDOMS (trimmed naked)
Gideon’s Challenge – Resistant
Resistant
I will not
be held
responsible
for the
impulses
of others
that cannot
find a lick of
common sense
with which
to spare
themselves
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge – Defensive
Defensive
Sharp edges
promise
bloody wounds
should
tender bits
be touched
too eagerly
and only
a careful
delicate touch
will do
to coax buds
of uncertainty
to open
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge – Tender
Tender
A touch
of tenderness
breaks through
paper thin
shell
to stir to life
what lies
beneath
and the next
inhale is
ragged and shaky
as insides
wobble
unpredictably
Twisting the Leaf 