Month: October 2019

Ready… Set…

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was another body scan that finished with a long period where I focused upon my connection to the liminal and the growing intensity of that pull to it that is a part of this time of the year for me.    To that end, I did some quiet visualization of hiking in the woods, as today is not a day I can manage to get out there.

Wheel of Fortune - Halloween Tarot Today’s draw is the Wheel of Fortune, which is the tenth card in the Major Arcana.  This means that it deals with an overall message or life path situation rather than a single aspect of the human experience.

The Wheel of Fortune card is a representation of luck (good or bad, depending on the reading involved), turning points, and destiny or the resistance thereof.

When the card came up in today’s reading, I saw it as a reminder to “fasten my seatbelt” for what’s coming ahead.   That is to say, the shift is coming between the slow time and the busy period, and I need to make sure that I’m prepared for it.  Don’t let it take me by surprise.  It’s time to get all my ducks in a row, all my supplies and product in order, and everything set and ready.

Deck Used: Halloween Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt.

Question: What good thing in my life deserves celebration?

Halloween Magick Tarot Reading Summary:   I choose to make good decisions (Two of Swords) which includes working with others when needed (Three of Pentacles), and taking the steps to heal from the past rather than letting it weigh me down (Ten of Swords).

Take Away:  This message is about my independence and how I move forward in my life set to my own moral compass.  Whether I’m doing things on my own or working with others, I allow my experiences to educate me and assist me in making the choices that are right for me.  The cards are telling me that this quality is something that I’ve possibly fallen to the wayside on acknowledging, and that should be celebrated.

Deck Used: The Halloween Magick Tarot

Inner Strength and The Past

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was not a guided meditation.  Instead I put on some YoYoMa and settled in to a lazy body scan that started at the top of my head and worked slowly down to the bottoms of my feet.   I then switched over to a few minutes settling into sounds as had been practiced in a previous guided meditation.

On the whole, it was very relaxing.

Six of Cups - Dark Mansion Tarot Today’s draw is the Six of Cups, which I pulled an intuitive hit off of that deals with taking some time to not just examine my memories, but appreciate how my past has created who I am today and the life I have.

This is something that I think a lot of people take for granted.  I personally never wish that anything I’ve experienced had happened differently.  I’ve gone through a good deal of bad experiences, and a significant amount of trauma.  But, each of these things in my past has made me into the man I am to day, and I am proud of the man I am today.

Yes, I am hard on myself, but that doesn’t change the fact that I feel I have good ethics and good moral values, and that I follow those guidelines and live them every day.   I am also very happy with my life.   Yes, things could be better… but they could also be a lot worse.  One small change to my past and my experiences, and maybe I wouldn’t be where I am now.  Maybe I wouldn’t have a wonderful partner, a loving sister, a trusted friend.  Maybe I wouldn’t be in a stable home that I’ve created for myself.

So when looking back at your past and experiences, be sure to remember that these things are a part of what make you who you are.  Without them, you might have turned out to be an entirely different person in an entirely different position… and not necessarily a better one.

Deck Used: Dark Mansion Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt.

Question: How can I better navigate through fear?

Ludy Lescot Tarot Reading Summary:  Sink into your inner strength (Strength card) and value the trials you have gone through and recovered from (Ten of Swords), and you will find yourself in a better place to deal with what comes (Nine of Pentacles).

Take Away:  This is a continuation of the daily draw from above, which surprisingly fits in really well with the question for today’s challenge. (Surprisingly because I wasn’t expecting them to correlate.)

The fact is that I am strong.  My strength is built up over all of the things I have survived and moved on from, whether that’s my father and family’s treatment of me growing up, the attacks I have survived through, the car crashes I have been in, the cancer and treatments for it, and the physical damages from everything I’ve mentioned that I have sustained along the way.   All of these things have built up my strength, and taught me how to survive and thrive in difficult (or seemingly impossible) circumstances.

I am proof that you can survive through things you did not believe were possible, and I’m proof that you can adapt to the changes that these experiences create, and learn to thrive because of and despite them.   Remembering this when fears get the best of me is how I can (as the question asks) better navigate through that fear.

Deck Used: Ludy Lescot Tarot

Self Care Saturday (on Sunday)

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As I’ve mentioned before, these 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 are not meant as a predictive reading.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

SCS

Earth – The World, Necessity, Desire – In order to grow and “level up” (as I put it in a previous blog post) with concerns to my business and finances, I need to take some time to examine, and also possibly re-evaluate and restructure, my priorities.

Air – The High Priestess and Reality – There needs to be an anchor when delving into the liminal, no matter how comfortable and welcoming it feels. Don’t let intuition and inner urges run away with your sense of reason. To dip into that pond safely and comfortably, you have to have a balance of both. This is a good reminder at this time of year, as with the veil so thin I always feel a huge urge to throw caution to the wind and dive in and get lost there in those liminal spaces. This message is about moderation.

Water – Seven of Pentacles and Respect – Long term friendships and relationships are built upon respect. Make sure this week that you pay attention to what others contribute to your life, especially on an emotional level, and what you contribute to theirs. If there are imbalances, approach them respectfully in order to allow things to flourish moving forward.

Fire – Judgement and Opulence – The message here echoes back to the Earth part of this reading and reinforces the message there. It’s time to evaluate spending habits and finances. (ie: Do I really need those fire opal beads right now? Or can they wait until the New Year?)

Waning – The 9th Mirror – Harm caused by others and the lasting marks that it leaves behind on the self and the psyche. Recognizing, understanding, and accepting that harm are vital to healing, but in the next week it’ll be a time to step away from that “less than” whisper that was recently unearthed and focus on other things.

Waxing – The 5th Mask – Lack of authenticity and difficulty in communication. Mercury goes into retrograde in a few days, and that is the theme for Mercury retrograde. That said? I’m not usually affected by Mercury retrograde, so the fact that this card is coming up to warning about these issues is interesting considering the timing. I’ll have to be careful with how I communicate over the next week and take special care to pay attention to how others communicate with me.

Decks Used: Talking To The Moon Tarot, Lucky Potion Oracle, Tarot of The Inner Mask

 

Perfectionism

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Today’s meditation was just over twelve minutes long and the last installment of the Managing Stress series.  The focus on today’s guided meditation was about taking a step back and approaching distressing emotions and thoughts as an observer rather than as a participant.

This distancing is something I’m very familiar with and used to work for me quite well.  Over the past few years, though, as you have helped me become more and more in touch with my emotions, I’ve found that I’m not as successful as I used to be at compartmentalizing my emotions and looking at them in a purely objective way.

Sometimes I think that is a bad thing… other times I think it’s a good thing.  Maybe it’s both.

Today’s draw is the King of Ghosts (Cups), which is a representation of a projective alpha energy in the area of emotions, intuition, relationships, and creativity.  This manifests itself in areas of emotional balance and diplomacy, as well as compassion, yet can also portray a depth of inner emotions and come across as moodiness or emotional manipulation.

When  I saw today’s draw this morning, what really stuck out to me was the curl of the king’s arm around the tail of the ghost. Even when the king is looking away in another direction, the ghost is still happy.

The message in today’s card is that sometimes you have to make peace with not having everything perfect.  It’s okay to be happy and celebrate regardless of the fact that perfection is not the result.  Enjoy the imperfections.  Celebrate them.

Deck Used: Halloween Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt.

Question: What is it time to forgive myself for?

Reading Summary:   Passing up potential opportunities (Ace of Pentacles) that could lead somewhere lucrative (King of Pentacles) in pursuit of new ideas and creativity (Ace of Swords and Knight of Cups).

Take Away: Okay so, I have a LOT of ideas… all the time.  As a part of my business I often spread myself too thin because I have so many creative ideas that I want to do and try, and not enough time to do them all.  I then try to do them all, and things get dropped (or delayed) as a result.  I could be focusing more on the business side of things.  On the advertising and drawing in new customers, etc.  Instead my attention is pulled again and again to those new ideas and creative endeavors. 

At times, I am really hard on myself about this, because IF I could just focus on the business side more, then I could probably draw in a good deal more profit. The truth is, though, it would feel more and more like a chore and less and less like a passion… so maybe I shouldn’t be quite so hard on myself about it.

Deck Used: Ghosts & Spirits Tarot

 

Confidence and Perspective Changes

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and focused on how sometimes gifts come in the form of what you shed or release, rather than what you gain, and how that is one of the things about meditation practice that is of great value.

What they mean by this is that the gift that meditation gives you isn’t always an increase in focus or an advancement of some kind, it’s in the releasing of stress and the decrease of anxiety, etc.

I think that this view is a lot like the view that I have of the negative incidents and people in my past.    It’s a “look for the silver lining” approach.   This is not to negate though, as I think it’s a very good point and good practice to get into.  Life is better and there is better perspective within it when you can accept that even the bad things that happen to you have value.

Queen of Wands - Dark Mansion Tarot Today’s draw is the Queen of Wands, which is a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions, drive, and ambitions.  This theme portrays itself with independence, confidence, and determination.  The Queen of Wands is ambitious and knows how to get what she wants and go after what she believes is hers.

What I see in today’s card is encouragement.  It’s appearance today is there to boost my self confidence, which wavered a bit when the less-than whisper came during the recent drop.  The Queen of Wands has arrived to remind me that I am strong and passionate, and if they don’t like me?  Fuck’em.

I’ll try to take her message to heart, although I’m not quite far enough out of the post-drop tenderness for it to really sink in at the current moment.

Deck Used: Dark Mansion Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt.

Question: Where may I need to shake things up?

Tarot of the Sweet Twilight Reading Summary:  I need to look recently occurring new perspectives (Hanged Man) concerning the drop (Eight of Swords) and the emotions that stem from it (Ace of Cups).

Take Away: Ok, so I had a really hard time with this last drop.  Yes it was massive, but it went beyond that, because for the first time in a long time, I completely shut down rather than allowing myself to deal with it.  And honestly?  My perception and feelings about it were different this time too, leaning far more to the negative.   I focused on those negatives rather than on the vulnerability and inner worries and fears, which didn’t help things.

This new perspective isn’t a healthy one, and isn’t healthy for me at all.  This isn’t the first time I’ve drowned so deep, or had such a massive drop afterward.  But I didn’t handle it well at all this time, and I need to look at approaching the drop and the emotions surrounding it from a different mindset in the future so that I don’t go back there again.

Deck Used: Tarot of the Sweet Twilight

Deepening Experiences of Deity

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This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about connecting with deity.

deity

Topic for the Week of 10/21: “I have recently been getting more focused on spirituality in my practice and have since discovered that I feel greatly called to follow and to learn all I can from the Goddess Hekate. My problem is that I am having trouble finding any source of information on her. Outside of meditation and exploration of what little I can find of her in mythology, I don’t know how to deepen my relationship with her. If you have any recommendations on how I could get closer to the Goddess with the limited resources I have, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.” – from Arlin

Okay, so this is going to probably be a pretty short one. I’ve been kind of sitting on this question all week this week, and because I’m a non-thiest, I’m having a bit of difficulty coming up with a response.

That said, I’m all for seeing things from different perspectives.  And, in this way, I don’t see this much different than my own quest to get closer to nature and the energies I work with and revere.

So my advice on this would be to seek out the activities that better connection to the deity (or entity) in question that you want to work with.   For me, this is deeply incorporated in my life from the gemstones I work with in my jewelry designs to the farm work I do at one of my jobs, the nursery work I do at another of my jobs, the hikes I regularly take out into the rainforest to spend time in nature without distraction, etc.

I would say that most deities have certain things they are known for and enjoy.  If you want to worship Hekate, for example, she is known for her associations with magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy.

So this reasoning mentioned above, therefore, would indicate to become closer with her and connect stronger with her, you would do things such as syncing up your magical workings to the moon’s phases, exploring (or at least educating yourself in) mediumship, practicing your magical workings at night, or focusing on the death aspect of her representations and incorporating things like dead leaves, corn husks, and other representations of death into your worship and workings.  One of the hosts for the Pagan Perspective also suggested composting, which I think is brilliant.

Meditation, as well, is an excellent way to connect to the ethereal.  Using Hekate as your focus in meditation and/or incorporating the things she is associated with into your meditation practice may also assist in a closer connection to your deity of choice (in this case, Hekate).

I think it’s also important to remember that if you are doing these things and working to find that connection, and you feel that perhaps you just are not getting anywhere?  This may not be the deity for you and you may want to look into others that may suit you better and be more interested in working with you.