Temperate
The winter
has no bite this year
as rain clouds
come and go
but no snow
is offered
nor do frozen temps
visit in the night
but only raindrops
and clouds
and the soft song
of the sea breeze
through
evergreen boughs
Today’s meditation was skipped.
The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 5th : Belonging
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is The Fool card, which is traditionally a representation of innocence, carelessness, carefree enthusiasm, and new beginnings.
Holding yourself apart from the adventures and the “good stuff” in life connects you to your inner child and your enthusiasm doesn’t help you feel like you belong, but instead only keeps you isolated from others.
It’s only when you’re open to new experiences, and give yourself permission to be more of a free spirit, that you get out there and actually interact with others instead of hiding away by yourself in the dark.
The message in today’s Fool card and “belonging” prompt is a reminder that it’s through adventure that we discover life’s greatest rewards. If we’re too focused on protecting ourselves from every little thing that might happen, we lose out on a lot of the good stuff that life has to offer us… including the connections and relationships that help support us along the way.
One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 6 | Entry 14 – Spiritual Development
Affirmation : “I am optimistic about the future.”
Prompt : Journal about the following question: “What do I believe would make the world a better place?” Use the card you draw to determine the active role you can play in creating that reality.
What feelings came up when I pulled this card?
My first reaction to this card was “yes, change, that’s what we’re talking about” with just a touch of impatience.
The fact that this card came out out of the deck to land on the table reversed, though, makes me wonder if the answer is more about what not to do… rather than what there is to do.
What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?
The Death card is about gradual organic change, rather than something sudden or unexpected.
Combined with what I mention (below) about the artwork, this speaks to me about a need to be patient and consistent in my efforts. Don’t wave shit in people’s faces, as it just irritates them and shuts them down. Sneak the stuff in from the side a little at a time, so that they slowly start to realize what they’re seeing on their own.
What in the artwork spoke to me?
That over the shoulder eye roll that the figure in the card is displaying indicates to me a touch of passive-aggressiveness. This hints that if I want to make a change, perhaps the direct approach is not necessarily the best approach I could take in this particular situation.
My prompt response and reflections.
I was just thinking earlier today about how the world seems to be operating in alternate realities. It’s about perspective. Some people see one thing, and other people see another thing entirely that is completely opposite of what the first people are seeing.
We see this again and again lately as politics bleed over into day-to-day life in blatant ways.
I recognize that there are two different versions of reality being seen here, and that each side of the coin is so extreme from the other that it’s hard to believe that they both exist in the same world and the same locations and the same experiences. (ex: We have people who rail against what’s happening in Minnesota right now and around the entire United States, and people who see what’s going on and support it.) And yet, here we are.
Depending on which side of the coin you are on, it’s extremely difficult to see that other side of the coin at all in any meaningful way. And, lots and lots of people aren’t even trying to because they think that -their- side of the coin isn’t just right, but undeniably obvious.
My desire to make the world a better place is for people to see beyond their side of the coin and find a place within themselves where they can work to understand and empathize with the other side of that same coin. Sometimes things aren’t about who is right and who is wrong, but about being able to see things from more than your own perspective in order to understand the situation better as a whole.
I am trying to do this in my own mind, and this card is a reminder that in order to encourage those in my life to do the same, I need to use methods that take time to show results, instead of just shoving things in their face and expecting them to “get it”. That latter behavior just entrenches them deeper in their own perspective and makes them less likely to want to explore anything else.
Other elements included in this reading:
Moss and Gold Flake Encapsulated Resin D20 and D6 Dice
@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 5th : A version of rest that actually works for me
Reading Summary – When you’ve worked hard and done your all, and you’re tired and bedraggled (Nine of Wands), you are then able to give yourself permission to finally sit down, think, and consider your options (Two of Swords). This time allows you to rest by not actively engaging in what’s going on around you, but still allows you to consider different perspectives and ideas (The Hanged Man).
Take Away – A version of rest that works for you does not include a complete shutdown of everything. That type of rest feels like stagnancy to you.
Instead, you often feel like you need to earn your times of rest, and then during those times of rest, be plotting, preparing, observing, and making choices about what comes next.
Because you’ve worked hard, and because you’re not abandoning things entirely during this time while you are sedentary, you are able to better accept this version of rest.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Gneiss Wish Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
I went out and had a steak dinner on someone else’s dime just to sit there and listen to what they had to say… you know, instead of blowing it off to stay home.
An Invitation
Vibrant pops
of color
emerges first
not in gardens
but greenhouses
and garden centers
in a promise
of spring to come
inviting hope
and a breath
of fresh air
even if spring
is not here
just yet
Today’s meditation was skipped.
The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 4th : Choice
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Four of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of taking time to rest, recuperation after a trying time, and stillness for restoration and meditation on the events that have brought you to this place as well as where to go from here.
You have to make the choice to rest when you need it. There’s always going to be more stuff to do.
That’s the thing about being a workaholic, right? There’s always so much to do. Lists and lists of stuff to do. And that’s just the stuff that -needs- to get done. Then there’s the stuff you want to get done, the stuff you’d -like- to get done, and the stuff that you really don’t want to do but you should get done.
All of that… even before we get to the stuff that’s not even related to work. Stuff like food and fun, rest and enjoyment and relaxation.
The fact is, though? No one can “burn the candle at both ends” forever. We all need rest and recuperation, and the longer you put it off? The more time it’s going to take to recover.
The message in today’s Four of Swords and “choice” prompt is a reminder that just like going to the bathroom and putting food in our bodies, rest is important and can’t be put off forever. We either make time for it willingly, choosing when and where it happens so that we get what we need… or our bodies and minds will make that choice for us when it they break down due to neglect.
Better to choose to rest when you can rather than putting it off and having that choice taken from you. So make sure that you are practicing your right to choose, and give yourself the rest and recovery you need when you need it.
@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 4th :
What I want to feel more connected to
Belonging, Five of Pentacles Rx, Change – You want to feel more comfortable asking for support when you need it.
Times when you need help from others invariably happen during moments of uncertainty caused by change. You don’t have to confront that uncertainty alone. Ask for help from others when you are feeling vulnerable, uncertain, or tapped out.
How to foster a stronger connection in this area
Control, The Fool, Sincerity – Let go of the control that you work so hard to hold onto, and be a little more free with that side of yourself that craves fun.
When you let go of control and decide to be a bit more reckless, you allow more authenticity of who you truly are hidden away inside to escape. This authenticity naturally draws people to you, and that draw is fostered by the fact that at these times when you release control you aren’t holding yourself apart from others as stringently.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Holy Leaf for fostering Strength, Endurance, and Boundaries
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Turtle Figurine for encouraging Slow and Steady Progress
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2026 Challenge
Philosophical Prompt for February 4th : Does love feel different to different people, or is it a universal emotion?
Reading Summary – We relate to love through how we have experienced security and contentment in our past lives (Ten of Earth atop Anemesis). This secret knowledge (The High Priestess) is the driving force concerning how we experience love in the present (The Chariot flying off to the right/future).
Take Away – There are similarities because we are all human, but also differences… because we are all human.
These cards speak of past lives, but I think possibly it’s just as true that this answer could speak of our own pasts in -this- lifetime. We understand love through what we have experienced, whether it’s in past lives or in our current lifetime. Thus, it looks and feels different for everyone.
The answer here in these cards is that love is universal in that everyone can experience it, but -how- they experience it is subjective.
Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
I made J drive because I was tired and wanted to relax for a bit.
Surprises
Sometimes when
you’ve gotta go
you’ve got to go
and it doesn’t matter
what sign
is on the door
as long as
you’re in there
alone
but that doesn’t
stop the
moment of laughter
when you first
step inside
Today’s meditation was a ten minute long #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.
The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 3rd : Longing
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 Swords (Quills), which is traditionally a representation of willful ignorance, self-imposed restrictions, turning a blind eye (especially when it can be harmful to self), and entertaining a victim mentality.
When I was little and my father was cruel to me, there were many times when I would run away to hide somewhere and cry afterward. During these moments of crying, I would hug myself and repeat the phrase “I want to go home” again and again.
This is a curious phrase, as I was home. I was in the only home I’d ever known being treated the only way I knew to be treated. And yet the phrase came back each time this happened. “I want to go home.”
I still don’t know what I was referring to when I said these words. I am blind to the understanding of where this “home” actually is, and when I focus on this phrase now, I still feel that sense of intense longing for… I don’t know what.
The thing is, in my adult life now, I have a home that is safe and comfortable, and I have people who fulfill that sense of “home” for me as well. My partner, my closest friend, my twin sister. And yet, that longing persists.
The message in today’s Eight of Swords card and “longing” prompt asks us about what we’re not seeing. Are we refusing to see these things that remain hidden from us, or is it just that we have not found the path forward to self-discovery we need as yet?
Today’s message encourages self-discovery. It asks us to look within ourselves to figure out what it is we’re missing; what it is we long for deep inside. After all, we can’t begin the journey towards fulfilling that longing until we identify it in the first place.
@de_tarotjuf’s Love Is All We Need Challenge
#detarotjuffebruaritarotchallenge
Prompt for February 3rd
What is an important lesson I’ve learned from a previous relationship/friendship?
Honeymoon Phase, Knight of Pentacles, All the Stars – Just because everyone has their good side or positive qualities doesn’t make them a good fit for you. It’s really easy, at the beginning of a friendship or relationship, to only see the good side of people. That’s why it’s important to go slow when getting to know someone and deciding if they are your friend or not.
Whether or not they are a good fit for you can’t be decided in the first few days or weeks (or even months, sometimes). It takes time to get past that surface level presentation and see their negative qualities for what they truly are, and to then decide whether or not those negative qualities are something that fit with you, your path, and your values.
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
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 3rd : One way I’ve grown without noticing
Reading Summary – You have become far more nurturing and grounded (Queen of Biscuits) when it comes to emotional upheaval (Eight of Teacups Rx) in your life. You pause to listen and try to understand instead of just flying off the handle and walking away from your emotions (Queen of Teacups atop Eight of Teacups Rx). This has created a greater sense of stability for you (Queen of Pentacles and Eight of Biscuits bracketing either side of the emotions/teacups within), furthering your skills in working with your emotions as well as your emotional intelligence (Queen of Teacups and Eight of Biscuits).
Take Away – Your efforts to learn about and work with your emotions are not going unrewarded. You are just not noticing how much you’ve grown because you are distracted by the fact that you are actually experiencing your emotions instead of hiding from them and burying them.
This distraction can often make it hard for you to see how you’re doing on this path, but here we see that you are doing well and advancing, even if it doesn’t always feel like it due to the emotions involved.
Other elements included in this reading:
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
I pushed myself to meditate today even though I wasn’t really feeling it.
Twisting the Leaf 