What Resonates… and What Doesn’t

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 5th
 : Resonance
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Persona 3/4 Tarot - The Magician

Today’s draw is The Magician card, which is traditionally a representation of capability, potential, resourcefulness, action, and manifestation. This often translates into themes having to do with being in possession of all of the skills, abilities, and tools necessary to reach one’s goals and accomplish one’s ends. It’s about being capable and skilled, resourceful and gifted with what is needed to get the job done.

Everything goes a little bit more smoothly when you follow what fits for you, rather than trying to conform yourself to what doesn’t.

When we try to conform ourselves to other’s standards and ideals, we aren’t just not going with the flow, we’re fighting against the current. This makes everything more difficult. You may still reach success, but all that extra hard work involved often doesn’t feel worth it in the end… because where you end up isn’t where you truly resonate with the world around you and those in it.

The message in today’s Magician card and the “resonance” prompt is a reminder that authenticity is one of the greatest tools in our arsenal when it comes to navigating life and our path through it. Being authentic to oneself, and carrying that authenticity forward into the world with us, allows us to find those things, people, and endeavors that truly resonate with who we are.

DECK USED: PERSONA 3/4 TAROT CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompts for May 4th thru 6th

Tarot Reading with the Tarot of Transformation and Inner Child Healing Oracle

What in life lights fire to your creative spark?

Two of Swords and Be Generous

Seeing the world and those in it in a positive light.

It’s extremely difficult for you to see bad people without trying to search for the good you think is within them as well. You have no problem accepting that there is bad in people in the world… it’s just that you want to see the good as well.

When you see that good shining from others through their choices and interactions, it inspires you in creative ways, sparking your creativity and allowing you to believe more fully that there is as much good in the world (or more) than there is bad.

How can you connect more strongly with that creative spark?

Master of Cups and Self Acceptance

When you see others like Gideon, who have a clear understanding of their emotions and the emotions of those around them, it’s important to accept that although you’re not there yet, you’re working on it.

Part of this journey is of self discovery, which requires accepting yourself in this moment as you are so that you can then improve upon yourself for the future. Allow yourself to be a novice, not just in your emotional journey, but your creative ones as well. As a result, this mindset will continue to spark that creativity within you again and again.

Philosophical Question: What is the biggest waste of human potential?

Eight of Swords atop Master of Disks; Listen to Your Unmet Needs atop Heal Your Rejection Wound

Trying to fill the emptiness within us with pursuits based in greed, and believing that that is going to solve the problem and make us feel better about ourselves, others, or the world around us.

This is about greed, and about using greed as a form of self-medicating for those things in our lives that we feel that we lack and/or crave. Not only does this not solve the issue that we’re trying to self medicate for in the first place, but this pursuit encourages humanity to be selfish and cruel.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT OF TRANSFORMATION AND INNER CHILD HEALING ORACLE

@ambitiouslyalexa May Journal Prompts
Prompt for May 10th
: Where I’ve been waiting to feel happy

Tarot Reading with the Persona 3/4 Tarot

Reading Summary: When conflict arises around you again and again (Five of Wands), instead of engaging you’ve been sitting back and not getting involved (Four of Cups) in the hopes that you will learn something long lasting and valuable (The Hierophant) from the experience by being detached from it.

Take Away: Part of the reason you step back instead of stepping in to make choices for others when they ask what you think is because you want them to learn how to able to deal with these situations on their own.

Whether this is looking at a solution to a problem or something as simple as deciding where to eat, what you’re actually doing is simply ensuring that you don’t get what you want out of the situation.

Choose to speak up instead. Let them choose to follow your lead or not once you do.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Raidho Cedar Rune Die for Encouraging Movement and Progress
Deodar Cedar Cone for Fostering Clarity and Spiritual Connection
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing on Aspirations
Green Aventurine for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PERSONA 3/4 TAROT CARDS
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Gideon’s Challenge – The Pause

Mossy Bark and Pixie Cup Lichen

The Pause

Hidden cracks
and crevices
promise adventures
to be explored
in a world
natural
and alien
when we look
close enough
to see minute
fascinating details
often overlooked
as we pass by
on our way
to nowhere special

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Purpose Behind the Pain

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 4th
: Expansion
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Art History Tarot For Past Lives - The Tower card

Today’s draw is The Tower card, which is traditionally a representation of sudden change, chaotic transformation, destruction, and the tearing down of something within one’s life or beliefs that leaves room for something new to take its place.

Like a germinating seed, you can’t grow unless you’re willing to crack the shell that protects you in order to reach beyond it.

I often wonder if the plagues and pandemics that have stricken humanity over the centuries aren’t a form of population control. After all, the Earth can only sustain so many, and humans are resource hogs. Just like thinning seedlings allows the ones left behind to grow and flourish, perhaps these plagues and pandemics are a way of doing the same for humanity. Wildlife culls itself, after all, but humanity simply grows and grows.

That doesn’t make the suffering in the moment any less, though. Nor the grief and loss that follows.

The message in today’s Tower card and “expansion” prompt is a reminder that even growth requires balance. You have to let go of certain things in order to allow room for new things to take their place. You have to weed out the things that would otherwise become an obstacle to your growth… even when that weeding hurts. Instead of focusing on the pain during these necessary times, try seeking out and focusing on the purpose.

DECK USED:  ART HISTORY TAROT FOR PAST LIVES

@ambitiouslyalexa May Journal Prompts
Prompts for May 5th, 6th, and 9th

Oracle Reading with the Fractals of Nature Oracle

Something I’m genuinely proud of

Jellyfish : Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield, but to my own strength.

Your independence and resilience. You are able to navigate life’s hurdles and obstacles on your own steam with your own strength and determination.

Although you are learning how to ask for help and depend upon others, you have the confidence and strength to handle things on your own when you need to.

This self-reliance is something that you are proud of.

Just keep in mind that the self-reliance you take pride in is not diminished when you ask for help. Asking for help is merely another tool in your “self-reliance toolbox”.

What abundance looks like in my life

Wood and Vine : He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the door open.

The love and caring you feel for others gives you a natural “in” when it comes to being a part of their lives and influencing them through your words and actions… and even through your mere presence.

For you, the concept of abundance includes this soul-deep caring within you, and the connections that it fosters between you and others. It creates authenticity in your relationships, allowing you to connect with others on a deeper level when they are open to recognizing and receiving that caring from you.

It’s about love, authenticity, and the connections they grow from these things.

Where I keep missing the moment I’m in

Lichen : When the moon fades, the ocean does not grieve it; it waits for another pull.

It’s easy for you to forget the cycles of nature and life when you are too busy pushing for success and accomplishments.

If you are willing to ease up and sense the natural flow of things, trusting it to carry you along through its natural cycles instead of trying to fight it’s currents, you will be able to stay more in the present and miss less of what’s going on in the moment.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: FRACTALS OF NATURE ORACLE
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Gideon’s Challenge – Depleted

Common Holly Leaf Skeleton

Depleted

Sometimes I feel
like a husk
of my former self
all sharp edges
and intricate bones
with no substance
left
to hold everything
together
and like
a mere breath
could crumble
what’s left of me
into dust

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

What’s Really Important

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌷    •    ◈    •    •    •

The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 3rd
: Clarity
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Tarot of Pagan Cats Borderless Edition - Four of Pentacles

Today’s draw is the Four of Pentacles, which is traditionally about stability and gratitude (sometimes to excess, which can turn miserly) for what you have. This is a stagnant sort of appreciation that speaks of not reaching for more, but instead being focused on what you have in the now.

It’s time to assess what’s really important, and what can be discarded. Sometimes we allow things to pile up around us, our mind deciding that everything is of equal value, and thus we end up stuck in the middle of a mess.

At these times, it’s important to sit back and really consider what is important to us and what things we have within our environment that support us in those important pursuits. This means our needs, but also the pursuits that help foster a healthier and happier you.

And then… discard the rest.

No matter how much you like something, if it’s not a need, and it’s not something that helps to support a healthier and happier you, why are you giving it your time, space, or energy?

Instead of holding onto these things, get rid of them. In doing so you’ll find yourself feeling happier, healthier, and lighter as well.

The message in today’s Four of Pentacles and the “clarity” prompt is encouragement to begin weeding out those things that have no true value in your life in order to make room for more things that make you happy and healthy.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF PAGAN CATS

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 1 | Entry 3 – Self-Care and Personal Development
Affirmation : “I seek out spontaneity and adventure to cultivate more joy in my life.”
Prompt : Choose a card that depicts an area of your life you can develop or explore that you may not have previously considered.

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Tarot of Syndey Sime - The Hierophant

What feelings came up when I pulled this card?

My first thought was that the Hierophant really isn’t a “new” theme in my life, although it has been quite a while since I took on a new mentee or taught a class.

I noticed that the thought didn’t create the same amount of overwhelmed that I’ve been experiencing during my hiatus, though.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

I enjoy sharing my perspective with others, and using my perspective to help teach others new aspects of their own life and practices.

Sometimes I do this through sharing my photography with the world at large, and other times by sharing my gardening adventures, jewelry design ideas, and other pursuits. I’ve also done this through teaching tarot in a mentee/mentor capacity, as well, and teaching the occasional class.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

The Hierophant’s hand on the smaller figure’s shoulder speaks to me of a mentor/mentee relationship, while the school of fish in the background speaks to me of a classroom environment. This is encompasses both aspects of the teacher relationship in the same card.

Added to that, in the background there is a flight of geese and clouds with a face in the cloud. This really speaks to me of advancing one’s knowledge and exploring new perspectives.

I think it’s important to remember this just because a perspective is foundational or traditional, doesn’t mean that it can’t also be new. It may not be new to you, but it can be new to those who have never encountered it before and are still learning.

My prompt response and reflections.

A few years ago, I set aside my “teacher” hat primarily because mutism can make it a great deal harder to teach that I’m often able to put my energy into. That means that in a lot of cases, the effort of doing classes and taking on mentees becomes too much simply because the communication aspect is a challenge.

This card speaks of an opportunity, at this time, to step back into this role that I thought was lost to me… if I want it.

As the prompt for this activity speaks about spontaneity, the suggestion here is that perhaps instead of structured lessons, a little “pop-up” class now and then could be just the thing to inspire more energy and joy in the process.

Other elements included in this reading:
Rose Quartz D20 and D6 Gemstone Dice

DECK USED: TAROT OF SYDNEY SIME

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompt for May 3rd
 : Do Spread 1

Tarot Reading with the Tarot of Pagan Cats Borderless Edition

What positive quality do I have that others admire?

Ace of Swords – Despite your mutism, you express yourself very well. It may not always feel like it, but your communication skills do well at not just expressing what you want to say, but also how you feel and what you need and want from others.

It also helps that you are open to communication with anyone for any reason. You allow people to come to you with open arms so that they can communicate with you when they need to, and are often a good listener due to your interest in wanting to see and understand things from more than just your own perspective.

What positive quality do I wish I had that I admire in others?

Six of Cups Rx atop King of Wands – The ability to selfishly say no to those around me without fearing losing their loyalty or interest.

You want to be able to pursue your own interest and take others with you, without them trying to stir the pot or mess things up for you along the way. You see others do this and they make it look so easy. In your experience, though, it’s not half as easy as it seems to pursue your interests and endeavors with others at your side without the need to people please interfering.

What step(s) can I take now to work toward developing that quality in myself?

Five of Pentacles atop Ten of Cups atop Ace of Wands Rx

When you cherish those around you through the good times and the bad, they are less likely to jump in and take over new ideas and adventures that you are interested in.

Make sure to share these journeys with them. As a result, instead of trying to take over, they will give you the room that you need to show them what you’re up to and what you really want.

What step(s) can I take to make the positive qualities I already have shine brightly?

Ten of Pentacles – Share your gratitude, good fortune, and the results of your hard work with others. Let them celebrate with you in your accomplishments and successes.

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Dried Cedar Bundle for Protection from Negative Influences
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT OF PAGAN CATS
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Gideon’s Challenge – Anchored

Marine Connections

Anchored

Hold me tight
and don’t let go
as stormy seas
crash through
and chaos reigns
for only you
provide safety
in the storm
and shelter
from the chaos
that’s sure
to otherwise
rip me apart

Photo © ZenStatePhotography