Month: January 2020

An Optimistic View

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was incorporated into my yoga/physio routine.   When I do yoga first and then settle into the meditation after, it seems to create a sense of accomplishment to my routine that I don’t get otherwise.   That said, although it creates this sense of accomplishment, I don’t feel as if I get as much out of these meditation sessions as I do from guided meditations.

Or… maybe I’m just missing the guided meditations, as I haven’t been doing them all that often lately.

The Fool - Spacious TarotToday’s draw is The Fool card of the Major Arcana.   I love this card for the Fool because it has the feeling of beginnings in a way that I think a lot of cards lack.   Yes, there’s an end to that cliff, but looking out over the horizon, there is a vast array of possibilities that the artistry speaks of for me.

And that is the message of the card in today’s draw.  The Fool makes an appearance today to remind me that life is a journey, and each day presents new possibilities to discover and explore.  It’s okay to look at the world with a sense of wonder and set aside pessimism to take a deep breath and appreciate all life has to offer.

DECK USED:  SPACIOUS TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I keep my actions aligned with my goals throughout the year?

Bohemian Animal Tarot

Reading Summary: Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed (Ten of Fire) and focus on staying optimistic (The Sun), proactive yet well grounded (Knight of Earth) while taking the time to be kind to yourself and others (The Goddess).

Take Away:  These are all things that are a bit of a challenge to me.  I have a habit of stacking too much on my plate, being pessimistic, and allowing myself to be unkind to myself.  These traits will be a hindrance to staying on track with my goals this year if I don’t stay on top of them.

DECK USED:  BOHEMIAN ANIMAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Draw 3 cards to tell the story of what you would do for a Dove Bar. (Had to change it from Klondike bar, cuz those things are nasty.)

Textured Tarot

Reading Summary: Dive to the deepest of depths (Ten of Swords), and fly to the highest of heights (The Sun), and use all of my substantial skillz to get what I want (The Magician). WahhhHaHaHa!!!  (LoL… Sounds like a Celine Dion song, yeah?)

Take Away:  Honestly?  Dove Ice Cream Bars are, hands down, the most amazing ice cream bars on the planet.  No contest.  I’ve tried them all and they are far and above the winner out of them all.  That said?  I intentionally drew these cards with humor in mind, and they didn’t disappoint. 

DECK USED:  TEXTURED TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How will I know I’m improving concerning my procrastination habit?

Ethereal Visions Tarot

Reading Summary:  Less issues with being upset with myself (Three of Swords), less struggles and more of a sense of accomplishment (Six of Wands atop the Seven of Wands), and obviously I’d be getting my work done (Eight of Pentacles).

Take Away:  When I let things pile up because of procrastination, the longer it goes on the worse I feel about myself and life in general.  By keeping up with tasks and not allowing them to pile up, I’m able to release the sense of struggling to move forward as well as that sense of disappointment in myself and embrace a sense of accomplishment.   It’s also a pretty obvious and telling sign that I’m improving if I’m actually getting things done and feeling on top of my work and projects.

DECK USED:  ETHEREAL VISIONS 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?

Self Care Saturday - January 18

Earth – King of Pentacles and Hope – Brunfelsia americana (the flower in this card) is a representation of manifestation of good things. Combined with the King of Pentacles, the cards here are telling me to focus on the positives in the week ahead and in doing so, good things will come forward for me to meet that focus and fulfill it.

Air – Eight of Wands, Intuition, Creation – Datura discolour symbolises meditation and the lifting of creative blocks, and Hemerocallis liliosaphodelus symbolizes fertile abundance. This week is going to be a week of quick growth and abundant ideas. Be sure not to get so carried away in the enthusiasm of it all that you lose sight of the end goal.

Water – Five of Pentacles and Death – Datura metel symbolizes loss and endings. Combined with the Five of Pentacles, I get the impression that this week will be a bit rough emotionally. The Five of Pentacles also is a reminder that when in the grip of these emotions, it is important to remain aware to the help that can be had if I am willing to reach out for it. It may be possible to circumvent the brunt of these unpleasant feelings by reaching out and securing that help from others before hand.

Fire – King of Wands and Release – Lonicera japonica is a representation of emotionally “letting go” and going with the flow concerning changes. Joined with the King of Wands, I feel that there is something I am passionate about that may require an adjustment to my views or a letting go of either for the time being, or permanently. This position ties into the water position concerning how I am going to feel during the transition going on this week.

Waning – Protection – Tying into the cards above, this card speaks of something slipping through the cracks in my walls.

Waxing – Innocence – As the walls crumble and let in something unpleasant, the innocence and naivete that I still posses and try so hard to protect will become exposed.

Take Away – Forewarned is forearmed. It looks like this week has the potential for some pretty emotional changes that I’m going to have to reach out to others for assistance in working through. What I see here is that those emotions and struggle will have an up-side though, as it will create a sense of drive and focus for other areas, and spur on the manifestation of things waiting in the wings while igniting an “out of the box” thinking process.

DECKS USED: VINTAGE ORACLE TAROT, FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT ORACLE, VINTAGE WISDOM ORACLE

Growing Outside the Box

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Today’s meditation was just over eleven minutes long and was a guided meditation that focused on envy.  This isn’t usually an issue I deal with all that often.  I’m pretty damned content with my life, all things considered.   I have people who love me, steady work and steady income, a mortgage that is about five years from being paid off, a good car, and my health.   I have a partner that worships the ground I walk on as well, which is honestly something I never thought I would want, let alone have…. until you came along and taught me differently.

So, envy isn’t really something I deal with all that often.  I understood the message, though.  It was speaking of how when we envy what others have, we are spending too much time focusing down on the little things, instead of opening up to the bigger picture and all that we have to be grateful for.

The High Priestess - Efflorescent Tarot (Color Edition)Today’s draw is the High Priestess, which interestingly enough, was also the focus of the Weekly Card Study in one of the Discord servers I’m very active on.

The thing is?   In this card the High Priestess really doesn’t look all that happy at all. Neither is there any water in the background.  Instead, the landscape looks jagged and sparse, her expression feels like sadness to me, and the moon feels as if it is too far away.

This is interesting, as I’ve never had this reaction to the imagery in this card before, but what I see in this card today is someone that is dissatisfied with their lot in life and feels… stuck.

The pomegranate vines in the lower left corner speaks to me of breaking free, and I feel that the appearance of this card in today’s draw is less about traditional meanings and more about intuitive nuances.  The card is saying that when you feel dissatisfaction and are feeling stuck, it’s time to start branching out and looking for new soil and striving for “outside the box” growth.

DECK USED: THE EFFLORESCENT TAROT (COLOR EDITION)

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: What simple way can I  show I value myself this year?

Ember + Aura Tarot

Reading Summary: Foster those relationships that have value and potential for longevity (Seven of Coins), and set good boundaries (Nine of Wands) with new friends (Ace of Wands).

Take Away:  These cards are essentially reminding me to not waste time on relationships that aren’t going to go anywhere or have no value.  Sometimes I feel like I want to befriend and help everyone, and that simply isn’t possible.   In order to avoid burning myself out or over-burdening myself with too much, I need to pick and choose where I spend my energy, and make good choices concerning boundaries so that I don’t get spread too thin.

DECK USED:  EMBER + AURA TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What in your life needs started now for it to be ready when you need it?

Cat's Eye Tarot

Reading Summary: Get your ducks in a row now (Seven of Wands) concerning your responsibilities (Two of Pentacles), because a shit storm is coming (Wheel of Fortune).

Take Away:  I think the reading summary pretty much clearly outlines what this reading is saying without a lot of extra interpretation.  (Hello again btw, Wheel of Fortune.)  These cards are essentially another kick in the butt, which has been happening quite a bit this last week as I work at getting my plans in order for the changes I’m making to how I deal with and run my business over the next year.

DECK USED:  CAT’S EYE TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I stop procrastinating?

Prediction Tarot

Reading Summary:  Lean on what I’m good at (Eight of Coins) and remember to remain calm and collected (Temperance) through the changes taking place right now (Death).  Taking up the reigns on change is a process that takes time and steady, determined progress to accomplish (Knight of Coins).

Take Away:  This clearly has to do with my business and those changes I’m working on shifting into since the new year.  Appropriate, considering I have absolutely been procrastinating in that area.   The cards are encouraging me that it’s okay to take things slow in order to provide skillful precision to the situation, but I need to remember to stay calm and stir up that determination to push me forward when feeling uncertain.

DECK USED:  PREDICTION TAROT

Out With The Old

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and again incorporated into my yoga/physio practice at the end of the forty minute session I do daily. Moving from the ebb and flow of my yoga practice into the stillness of those ten minutes at the end of the practice feels really nice, and gives my body time to ease out of the stretching and exercise to a calm state.   I really like it.

Spacious TarotToday’s draw is a double without a jumper, meaning that the cards came out together as one from the deck.   The cards in today’s draw are the Ace of Pentacles atop the Death card.

When I see these two cards together today, the message that I get from this imagery is that in order for new things to happen, sometimes old things have to die off first.  Its a part of the ebb and flow of life that some things must fade in order to make room for new things to develop.    It’s a rhythm that fits into every facet of life, and it’s no different in mine.

The appearance of these cards is a reminder that you can only fit so much on your plate.  In order to fit in more, you have to let go of something, because only so much will manage to stay on the plate at once.

DECK USED:  SPACIOUS TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: What simple way can I show my loved ones that I value them this year?

Field Tarot

Reading Summary:   Make sure I’m there for them (Prince of Discs) during times of change (Death), and willing to lend an ear without casting judgement (The swan consulting it’s reflection in the Judgement card), and help them find a way forward (Chariot) when they are having trouble seeing a their path through (Princess of Wands) those difficult times.

Take Away:  Sometimes what loved ones need most is an ear and a little help finding the path through the trees.  This is something that my loved ones come to me for now and then through the years and it sounds like this year will be another one of those years.

DECK USED:  THE FIELD TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I overcome my weaknesses?

Tarot Cats

Reading Summary: Weaknesses are not meant to be overcome (The Moon), instead they are meant to be sat with and learned from (Four of Cups) so that you can move forward into personal growth and while learning how to utilize those weaknesses to your advantage (Seven of Pentacles) for the future.

Take Away:  This answer really makes sense to me, because I’ve never really understood how you “overcome” weaknesses.  To me, everyone has weaknesses and you learn to adapt to them and use them to your advantage.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t still a weakness, only that they have become a useful weakness.

DECK USED:  TAROT CATS

 

Using Visualization in Spellcraft

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This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about visualization and how it’s used in one’s practice and in everyday life.

visualization

Topic for the Week of 1/13: “Although the word makes us think only of vision and our sense of sight, the practice of visualization involves any and all senses, not just sight but also scent, sound, touch, and even taste…”

There are multiple questions included in the continuation of the topic for this week, so I am going to break those questions up below, because I think it’ll be easier to answer that way, rather than taking the whole thing on at once.   So…

1) Do you practice this skill or use it in your path?

Oh hell yes.  All the time.  Anyone that reads a book and imagines what’s going on in the book in your head, or writes fiction, or daydreams about this or that is doing visualization.

In spellcrafting, especially, it is an extremely valuable tool used to set intentions and direct energy into those intentions.

It is also an excellent method of meditation.  One of my favorite meditations when I was first starting out at meditation was to visualize peeling and eating an orange, as it is one that has a very distinctive and strong ability to incorporate all five senses.

2) What do you actually DO when you ‘visualize’ something?

Visualization triggers the parts of the brain that have to do with receptors for each of your senses.   So it’s not just “thinking” about doing something, but awakening those parts of the brain that register sensation and… well, playing with them.

3) Do you find that it comes easily to you, or do you struggle with it?

I’ve been doing visualization all my life, both in my practice and path, as well as in the day to day.  So it’s not really something I think about anymore, to be honest.

4) Are certain inner senses easier to use than others? For example some people may find inner sight difficult, but hear things easily, and so on.

Because of my synesthesia, the hearing one always feels a bit weird because with visualizations it doesn’t always kick in as it does with actual auditory input.   But other than that… not really.  I would say that visualization-wise, my sense of smell is the weakest.

5) What do your physical eyes ‘see’ when you visualize something?

They don’t.   I don’t hallucinate when visualizing.  Whatever I’m visualizing plays out in my mind, not in the physical world in front of me.

6) Do you have any tips for others working on this skill? For those who struggle, what are other things that can be done instead?

I think a lot of people don’t realize that creative writing is a type of visualization.  That reading a work of fiction is a type of visualization.   They think that it’s some esoteric skill they can’t tap into, but have been doing it all along and not realizing it.   Use those ways of visualizing that are familiar to you and take steps to begin reaching beyond them.

Instead of reading a book, make up a story in your head.  Pay attention to what you’re doing in your head beyond just producing words, yeah?  Do you see your character doing those things?   Can you feel what that character feels?   That is visualization.   Practice and pay attention, yeah?

7)  Does struggling with visualization prevent growth in our practice?

I believe it could.   Without visualization, the energy placed into intention setting wouldn’t have the same kind of -drive- behind it.  That drive is what pushes the energy forward into creating the results you seek, so I sort of wonder if spellcasting without it would even work?   I’m not sure, as this isn’t a problem I deal with personally.

 

Foundation Work

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and incorporated into my yoga/physio practice because I’ve been having a few days of difficulty with just sitting still. I haven’t been to the sports medicine doc for an adjustment on my ribs in almost four weeks now, which means that I have had a few things move out of place and then the time for the inflammation and irritation to ease enough to “cement” those misalignments out of place.    This means that when I lie still, my muscles spasm some, so I was hoping that incorporating the meditation into my yoga would help.

Long story short… It didn’t.  Not really.   So, hopefully I’ll see him on Tuesday next week and start to get things back to a more comfortable alignment.

Four of Pentacles - Efflorescent Tarot (Color Edition)Today’s draw is the Four of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of stability and steady structure in the area of resources, finances, manifestations, and the physical plane.

This card’s appearance today is an encouragement following yesterday’s nudge.   It reminds me that what I want to work at achieving with the changes I’m doing to my business this year are to increase the stability of the foundation that my business rests upon.

And the first step on building this foundation is to make a physical list of the changes I want to make. (Intuitive hit… wood paneling in the background and earthen tones.)

Creativity is a flighty and ever-shifting process in my experience, and I need a stronger base for what has grown into a thriving business so that it can carry forward into the future with not just strength and purpose, but also longevity.

DECK USED: THE EFFLORESCENT TAROT (COLOR EDITION)

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I best move into the risks that the universe wants me to take this year? (Build off of yesterday’s read.)

Wheel of Fortune Tarot by Ivy Feng

Reading Summary: Don’t let fear of failure hold you back (via the look on the Hierophant’s face and tension in his pose as he looks at the Five of Pentacles). Even though you feel a lurking darkness from outside influences that may cause some doubt (via the dark head of the lion looking down on the couple below and siphoning energy into their glasses), you have all the tools at your disposal to succeed and do well (The Magician facing and atop the Two of Cups card).

Take Away:  As I mentioned yesterday, I worry about the folly of pride whenever I try to appreciate my accomplishments.  The interaction between the Hierophant and the Five of Pentacles speaks of this fear.   The dark lion in the Two of Cups speaks to me of the doubts I struggle with concerning my emotions and learning how to better integrate them into my life (as opposed to burying them).  That energy siphons into the cups below, polluting and “poisoning the well” so to speak.   If i want to push through these risks and find the prize beyond, I need to look at the tools I have at my disposal and use them to help me along this path, rather than shirking from the risks altogether.

DECK USED:  WHEEL OF FORTUNE TAROT BY IVY FENG

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What does Miss Luna think about me?

Accurate AF TarotReading Summary: I am the provider of all good things (Six of Cups) … And some of the bad as well (Justice).  I am her safe harbor (Five of Pentacles), and where all the good stuff in life comes from even if she can’t always figure out why I do what I’m doing (Son of Cups).  She likes it when I am able to know what she needs and understand her even though she can’t talk human speak (The Priestess).

Take Away:  The cards pretty much lay out the life of a happy house cat.  She needs me.  She loves me.  She sees me as the provider of all good things, and punisher when she does something wrong cuz I’m the one that lays down the law.  Sometimes the stuff I do makes no sense to her, but she’s happy over all and is having her needs met.

DECK USED:  ACCURATE AF TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I better utilize my strengths to achieve my goals?

Jeremy Miranda Oracle Cards

Reading Summary:  The cards on the left are crisp and filled with water, whereas the cards on the right (which overlay the left) are grounded in earth and carry the flavor of the forest in their coloring and depictions.   The cards on the left being the present, the cards on the right speak of what is needed to move forward.

Take Away:  I need to spend more time in liminal spaces.  The world is too crisp and cold.  Too in focus.  By stepping outside of that and finding where the lines are blurred, I will better be able to find the grounding I need to move on with solid footing, rather than feeling as if I’m treading water.

DECK USED:  JEREMY MIRANDA ORACLE CARDS