Boundaries for Stability

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌾    •    ◈    •    •    •

Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Guardian of the Night Tarot Pocket Edition - King of Wands and the Walnut card from Listening to Flowers Cards

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.

The King of Wands has then been combined with the Walnut card from the Listening to Flowers deck, which says, “My boundaries are resilient as I encounter external forces. I am protected as I cross over thresholds of change. I trust my sense of awareness to guide me.”

I have a tendency to internally freak out during change. A lot of people can’t notice it from the outside, but on the inside, I am quite literally going “oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh, fuck!” This is because I struggle with moments of uncertainty, specifically because they feel unstable, and instability is my least favorite of all experiences.

But what if stability or instability during change doesn’t have anything to do with what’s going on around us, but rather, what’s going on within us?

The message in today’s King of Wands and affirmation card ask us to consider… Is it possible to use our boundaries to help us in staying calm and collected during times of change? In using our boundaries in this way, can we then traverse through times of change more smoothly and come out the other side better prepared for what lies ahead?

DECKS USED:  GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT TAROT INDIE POCKET EDITION AND LISTENING TO FLOWERS DECK

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 5th : my body is an open palm

Creative Writing Exercise with the Pacific Northwest Playing Cards

Physical pain is often a punishment. A slap across the face to bring me back to the present when I forget that I am not as young as I used to be. (Five of Diamonds and Three of Hearts)

This is especially true in times when I am being influenced by my need to create harmony with others by striving to do more and be more, when I am already juggling far too much and struggling to keep everything in balance. (Six of Clubs atop Two of Diamonds)

At these times, my body speaks up to remind me of all that I have done in the past to earn the scars I now wear covering my flesh like the lines of an open palm that then slaps me back down to size in a painful reminder of reality. (Nine of Diamonds and Queen of Spades)

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Foraged Ponderosa Pine Cone for Resilience and Adaptability
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Strength, Growth, and Renewal
Labradorite for a Focus on Mental and Emotional Healing
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PACIFIC NORTHWEST PLAYING CARDS

@jourie.co‘s An Imaginative Life Journal Prompts
Prompt for September 5th : Which story about yourself no longer fits?

Tarot Reading with the Guardian of the Night Tarot Pocket Edition

Reading Summary: Happiness (Ten of Cups) is no longer something to be skeptical about or feared (Nine of Swords). Neither is it an end goal you are seeking to obtain (The World).

Take Away: In younger years, you held a lot of skepticism about happiness and finding a happy and contented life for yourself and others. You saw happiness as something that had to be worked towards and earned.

Over time you have learned that happiness is something that you find in the present moment, though, and not an end goal to be achieved. It’s something you build in the day to day, for yourself first, and through yourself for others as well.

Other elements included in this reading:
Holly Leaf for assistance in Gentling Negative Emotions
Garnierite for help in Releasing Anger, Anxiety, and Guilt
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT TAROT INDIE POCKET EDITION
Daily Self Kindness

I spent some time organizing unshelved playing card decks today so that I’m ready for next month and have a line up of decks in mind for this one.

Gideon’s Challenge – Sleepy

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Settled Seagull

Sleepy

a seat
in the sunlight
with a cool
pacific breeze
and the day
becomes
a moment
of stillness
within movement
as I linger
to smell
the briny air
and imagine
sleeping
peacefully and
undisturbed

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Presence as a Gift

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌾    •    ◈    •    •    •

Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Traveler's Tarot - Ten of Pentacles and a card from the Mindfulness Cards

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, and reaching a point in that abundance and stability where it is comfortably shared with those around us.

The Ten of Pentacles has then been combined with the Feel the Ground card from the Mindfulness Cards, which says, “Just like the breath, our connection to the Earth is always available to us. I simply pay attention to the feeling of our feet, we can literally ground ourselves at any time. Practice this in different circumstances and in different places so that when you’re facing difficult moments in the future, you have an always-accessible tool to bring yourself back to the present moment.”

Sometimes the security and stability that we offer others has nothing to do with money or wealth. Sometimes it’s in how our presence makes them feel safer, comforted, or more grounded.

This is why the simple act of spending time with others is often overlooked as one of the most valuable gifts you can give to those around you. When you sit at someone’s bedside when they’re sick or come and listen to them when they need an ear, you are providing for them something more valuable than money ever could.

The message in today’s Ten of Pentacles and grounding card is a reminder that these types of contributions to others are just as valuable as, if not more valuable than, gifts or money ever could be. This is because in these moments, you are giving of yourself rather than just offering something of use but without heart.

DECKS USED:  THE TRAVELER’S TAROT AND MINDFULNESS CARDS

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 4th : sipping on the eye of a storm

Creative Writing Exercise with the Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio Playing Cards Hupo Standard Edition

Six of Spades

I stand and watch in silence
as hammer moves to displace
the guts of old brass hinges
from their hidden space
And as the door comes free
he thinks that he has won,
as no protests are spoken aloud
while I mentally prepare to be gone.

Queen of Spades atop Queen of Hearts

In these moments of daydreams,
I find solace and support,
aware that sharp tongues pause
merely to sharpen edges
then come back for more blood.

Other elements included in this reading:
Bird Figurine for Encouraging Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: STRANGE TALES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO PLAYING CARDS HUPO STANDARD EDITION

@jourie.co‘s An Imaginative Life Journal Prompts
Prompt for September 4th : What part of your life looks fine out does not feel right?

Tarot Reading with The Traveler's Tarot and Contact Oracle

Reading Summary: You have chosen to shut away your past, instead of communicating with others about it and sharing your experiences (Past Life Regression). This makes you appear strong and stable (King of Coins), while on the inside there’s a lot of emotional churning going on that nobody knows about (Ace of Cups with Past Life Regression).

Take Away: You tend to willingly share a lot about yourself and your present, as well as your hopes and dreams for the future, but you very rarely share much of anything about your past.

This is understandable, as there are a lot of emotional traumas and vulnerabilities that still need to be worked through in that area; things that you don’t give others much of a clue about so that you can look far more stable and invincible than you really are.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Cedar Bundle for Protection from Negative Influences
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
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE TRAVELER’S TAROT AND CONTACT ORACLE
Daily Self Kindness

I confirmed the housekeeper’s next visit instead of giving in to the urge to cancel it to avoid the social interaction involved.

Gideon’s Challenge – Anticipation

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Storm Clouds

Anticipation

autumn
creeps closer
with churning
gray skies
interspersed
between blue
and the splat
of spitting
rain clouds
not yet
committed
to giving
dry earth
it’s due

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Unconditional Love’s Safe Space

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌾    •    ◈    •    •    •

Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Threshold Tarot - Eight of Discs and a card from the Crown Power Oracle and Affirmation Deck

Today’s draw is the Eight of Discs (Pentacles), which is a representation of hard work, expertise through practice, honing a skill, quality craftsmanship, handicrafts, and manifestations through skill and hard work. The card is often the embodiment of the “practice makes perfect” adage.

The guidebook for this deck says, “You have, at last, learned to be careful. Perfectionism isn’t as prudent as you think it is…”

The Eight of Discs has then been combined with a card from the Crone Power Oracle and Affirmation Deck, which says, “I am protected. I am safe and loved.”

No one holds you to the same impossible standards and unrealistic expectations as you do yourself.

The perfectionism mindset is impossible to satisfy and unreasonable in its expectations. We have protection from these demands, though, if we choose to rate our performance not on our own unrealistic expectations, but on what others expect instead. Specifically, those that love us unconditionally.

This unconditional love protects us from harsh judgement and censure when we fall short of impossible demands for perfection. By learning to love ourselves in that same unconditional light that others love us, we then create a safe space to not just be wrong now and then, but fall a bit short on the standards we shouldn’t be holding ourselves to in the first place.

The message in today’s Eight of Discs and affirmation card remind us that love is kind and understanding, and can create a buffer between you and your harsh inner narratives. Love yourself enough to create the same safe space and protections for you that others who love you unconditional do.

DECKS USED:  THRESHOLD TAROT AND CRONE POWER ORACLE AND AFFIRMATION DECK

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 2nd : it will be blue again

Creative Writing Activity with the Nezha Playing Cards Dakki Edition

Queen of Hearts and Ace of Clubs

As the weather begins to shift
from summer into fall,
the skies become crowded
with the gray of raindrops to come.

And while one soul mourns the loss
of sun and blue sky above,
another soul dances in delight
at what is soon to come.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: NEZHA PLAYING CARDS DAKKI EDITION

@lightningwildflower‘s September Self-Talk Challenge
Prompts for September 2nd through 4th

Tarot Reading with the Threshold Tarot and Mushroom Spotter's Deck

Release – Where am I holding myself to a standard that no longer serves me?

Two of Discs and Mica Cap
“You can’t do it alone.”

Just as you are in the process of redefining for yourself what stability means, so too are you in the process of redefining balance. It’s difficult for you to accept that neither include stillness in their execution.

It is easier to keep your footing with a little help from others.

Focus – What part of my life needs thoughtful attention?

Ten of Cups and Chicken of the Woods
“Act with confidence and determination to inspire others.”

Know what you want and go after it unequivocally. Don’t just choose your pursuits with abandon, but instead select them with thoughtful care and attention given to the idea of deep diving with interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm. These qualities are what encourage others to do the same.

Spaciousness – What would make my day feel more spacious?

The High Priestess and Common Mycena
“Create community.”

Allow your gut to have a say in who you let into your inner circle and who you don’t. This doesn’t mean you might not still be wrong sometimes, but you’re far less likely to be disastrously so. By following your gut instead of your head, you create connections that fit together like puzzle pieces, building an entire picture out of those you choose to let in and be involved.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Ponderosa Pine Cone for Resilience and Adaptability
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Foraged Red Oak Leaf for Fostering Unconditional Love
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Moss Agate for Attracting Opportunities for Growth
Calcite for Gently Calming the Mind and Stimulating Insights
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THRESHOLD TAROT AND MUSHROOM SPOTTER’S DECK
Daily Self Kindness

I took it easy today, and even managed a decent nap while at Ms B’s house before dinner.

Gideon’s Challenge – The Liminal

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Bright Green Moss on the Trunk of a Tree

The Liminal

a wandering path
through tall trees
and the droop
of evergreen boughs
takes footsteps
through
thresholds
until each
boundary crossed
caries with it
circumstance
and consequence
as we are
forever changed
by the kisses
of the fae

Photo © ZenStatePhotography