Simmer Pot
Nosebleeds
and sore sinuses
bring
stainless steel
out of hiding
with water
to the brim
and heat beneath
a dance floor
is gifted to
orange peels
and apple cores
and a cinnamon stick
or two
that twirl and spin
together
in a dance
that soothes
the senses
These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.
(Yes, I had to choose PINK for Valentines Day.)
The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?
Earth – King of Cups – Your emotional stability lies within the company you keep this week. Make sure that you are getting enough time with Gideon to keep yourself on an even keel, and allow those you trust with your emotions to step to lend a little extra support to keep everything feeling on an even keel.
Air – Two of Swords – Some important decision-making is coming up in the week ahead. Make sure that you don’t jump the gun when the time comes, but instead take the time needed to linger and think over things before making a final decision. A little extra time to make sure you’re making the right choice isn’t going to hurt anything.
Water – Four of Wands – Savor the people and places in your life that feel like “home” to you. Like spending time with Gideon as mentioned in the “Earth” position of this reading, putting a bit of extra focus into savoring these people in your life is going to help you to find greater stability in your emotional well-being.
Fire – Eight of Swords – Sometimes when you are feeling overwhelmed or emotional, you like to bury your head in the sand and retreat. Make sure you don’t do this right now, or you may end up missing something important that you really need to know. You don’t have to act or interact right now, but make sure you’re at least paying attention so that you can take action later.
Waning – Tower and Star – No matter how much it feels like it might be, solitude is not your friend this week. Don’t hold yourself apart and think everything will be okay if you just hide and let things pass on by. Retreating is not the answer.
Waxing – Clover and Grave – Find hope in the void left behind by letting go of something that felt important to you. There’s a boon in freeing up space in your life. Make sure you’re not taking that boon for granted.
Take Away – You may spend most of this week feeling tender and emotional. You are going to need the presence of others in your life to help lift you up and keep you from slipping into solitude and unhealthy stagnancy. Make sure they know you need the help this week, and ask them to help you find the boon in letting go of those things that are no longer sustainable.
Today’s meditation was an eleven minute long #DailyTrip session from the @Calm app.
The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 14th : Release
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Eight of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of withdrawal, abandonment, or letting go of things, situations, or people in your life that are just not working out for you emotionally.
Look at the rejection in the moon’s facial expression. The card couldn’t have said “I’m done with this shit” any better if it wrote the words out on the card.
Everyone has that line in the sand. Some reach it far faster and easier than others, but all of us have it. That line where things are just too much. Our emotions have been so invested, and we come to the realization it’s not working out, and have to say “fuck it” and walk away.
It boils down to boundaries. Boundaries give us the ability to walk away when we need to, sometimes even if we don’t -want- to. Because if we don’t? Then they learn that they can walk all over your boundaries and treat you however they want.
The message in today’s Eight of Cups and “release” prompt is a reminder that sometimes we have to walk away even when we don’t want to. If it’s not working, it’s not working. Let go and find something better suited… or someone who will respect you and your boundaries instead of constantly pushing them, challenging them, and sweeping them under the rug.
#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2026 Challenge
Prompt for February 12th and 13th
Where you need a little extra support at this time.
Knight of Cups and New Beginnings – You are struggling to find direction, which includes struggling with even identifying what you want in the first place. This is leaving you feeling both stuck and a bit listless at a time when new opportunities are on offer and choices need to be made.
Someone or something that can offer you the support you need.
Six of Cups and Protection – Look to those you have long standing relationships with and have proven themselves through their past actions.
J, in particular, fits this description. Consider discussing with him how you’re feeling, and see what nuggets of wisdom and/or support he might be able to offer to you.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Clear Quartz for a boost of Intentional Energies
@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 14th : A way I can soften my expectations
Reading Summary – Make the changes necessary (Death) to stop prioritizing those things that create overwhelm (Ten of Wands) above self-care and healthy choices (The Lovers).
Take Away – This is an echo of a previous reading I did recently… and, it’s honestly something I need to hear. Maybe hearing it a few times will help drill it into my head?
The thing is, our needs are not luxuries to be doled out as rewards. I have a tendency to treat them that way, pushing myself until I’m ready to break, then giving myself the bare minimum needed to ensure I can keep going.
I’ve gotten better about this over the past couple years or so, but I still have a long way to go in this area.
Other elements included in this reading:
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
I took a nap in the car while J drove some of today.
Getting Lost
Let’s slip away
off the dock
and into the skiff
tied and waiting
slip the knot
as tide shifts
and let ourselves
be carried
away
lost in each other
to become
a part of
the evening’s
golden glow
Today’s meditation was (yup, you guessed it) skipped.
The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 13th : Healing
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the King of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions, drive, determination, principles, values, and willpower. The King of Wands often indicates themes that have to do with leadership figures or authority figures with the ability to rally others to their causes and draw them in to their own values, principles, and passions.
Self healing is a process that takes time, and can be done in conjunction with other things we need to put our focus on.
Don’t delay your goals and desires in deference to your healing journey, and don’t delay your healing journey in order to strive toward your goals and desires. Instead, make your journey of healing a companion to all the other things you want to do.
This doesn’t mean that there won’t be times along the way where one or the other won’t have to briefly take your full focus, just as there’s going to be times where you have to pause and rest. The fact is, though, that it’s rare to focus on one thing at a time, one journey at a time. or one project or interest at a time. Learning how to combine the things that are important to us so that we can take them with us on our path through life means multitasking is a part of the process.
The message in today’s King of Wands combined with the “healing” prompt is a reminder that your goals and aspirations don’t supersede your need for self-care and healing. Instead of trying to prioritize other things over your needs, seek out ways in which to combine them so that you can give yourself the care and healing you need… as you work toward your goals and reach for your aspirations.
@de_tarotjuf’s Love Is All We Need Challenge
#detarotjuffebruaritarotchallenge
Prompt for February 13th : What is a consequence I’ve experienced because of my choices in love?
Reading Summary – You’ve discovered that while not everyone is right fit for you (Six of Wands Rx), that when you do find the right fit you go all in with both your emotions (King of Cups) and your passionate nature (King of Wands).
Take Away – So what exactly -is- the consequence of that “right fit” and going in fully with your emotions and your passions? It’s that Gideon has essentially ruined me for anyone else that might’ve ever come along.
When you have it this good… good enough that you dive in with your whole heart and soul, nothing else could ever compare. You feel as if everything has been tailored just for you, fitting perfectly in all the right places on all the different levels that matter.
Finding that once in a lifetime? That’s called a miracle. Finding it twice? I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.
This is why he has to live forever, or at least as long as I do.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Rose Petals for Connecting with Love and Romance
Turtle Figurine for encouraging Slow and Steady Progress
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 11th
What I need more reassurance around
Self-Care, The High Priestess, Messy – You are so used to ignoring your own needs (or outright forgetting about them) that you have a tendency to overlook your inner messages that are trying to inform you in this area. You miss when your body, mind, or spirit try to speak up and tell you what you need most.
As a result, you dip into moments of “messy” where you feel flustered and out of sorts without there seeming to be a reason. At these times, you require reassurance that self-care isn’t a luxury, and neither are your needs.
Where or how to seek out those reassurances
Perspective, Six of Swords, Curious – Make it a game… like Marco Polo at the pool. Close your eyes and listen closer, rather than leaning into the surface level awareness, then allow your curiosity to trigger so that you follow what you hear calling to you.
This takes both curiosity and trust. You have to be willing to turn over a new life and -try- to hear your inner voice better, rather than just shrugging off what its asking for as you normally try to do.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
I expressed my vulnerability through time in play with Gideon today.
Helleborus
Color returns
with little
primrose flowers
and great big
hellebore blooms
that turn away
from the sky
but reach upward
to the clouds
as leaves
unfurl
and petals fill
with the
first blush
of Spring
Twisting the Leaf 