Month: July 2020

Morning Bonus Read – Self Care vs Slacking Off

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This last week, several people had a conversation in general-chat about how to tell if an action is self care or laziness/avoidance. Time to take that question to our divination tools!”

Colliding Crowns Fantasy Playing Cards

What self care is needed in my life?

Some focus on miserly behavior and building up my foundation (Four of Diamonds) financially when it comes to new money coming in (Ace of Diamonds). This is based in your need for stability, which requires a steady foundation beneath your feet.  Do not allow self destructive urges and bad habits to steer you from this need hat is a basic part of your make up.

What difficult actions am I avoiding or procrastinating on?

See above in the self care that is needed. When your foundation is unsteady, your anxiety is given free reign (Nine of Spades) which creates an instability that quickly leads down the road to chaos (Joker).  All those little flutterings of anxiety you’ve felt over the past week or so?  This is the root of that rise within you.  Stop procrastinating and deal with it before it blows up in your face.

What action do I think is self care but is actually avoidance?

Not using your time wisely by spending it in unproductive ways with others (Three of Hearts).  You can’t create a stable home that way, no matter how much you enjoy relaxing in their company (Four of Clubs). Using them to ignore your problems fixes nothing and only allows these issues to grow in the background while you are distracting yourself.

What action do I think is avoidance but is actually self care?

Getting entangled within creative endeavors to the point that your focus and drive glimmer like a flame in the center of the creative process (Queen of Clubs) allows you a healthy way to avoid useless conflict (Five of Clubs) you don’t need to get wrapped up in anyway.  It’s okay to lose yourself in that creative process sometimes.  It’s good for you.

DECK USED: COLLIDING CROWNS FANTASY PLAYING CARDS

Conservation Through Moderation

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and ended in a short nap, as many of my meditations seem to do these days.  It was one of the harp string meditations and I must have dozed off during the last position of my piriform stretching as I was shifted over onto my left side with my legs still tangled up when I woke up a bit later.

Herbcrafter's TarotToday’s draw is the Seven of Earth (Seven of Pentacles) which is traditionally a representation of slow growth and gradual progress in the areas of one’s finances, resources, health, manifestations, and the physical world.

What stood out to me in the imagery of this card today is the acorns.  Specifically the fact that half of the acorn caps are empty, and yet you see no nuts anywhere, just acorn caps and full acorns.   To me this speaks of consumption, and specifically about regulating consumption.

When you are looking at long-term sustainable growth, it’s more than about patience.  Yes, patience is a good part of it, but so is moderation and restraint, because long term goals need to take in an element of conservation.  Continuous sustained growth in any area requires this because if you consume more quickly than you can reproduce what’s being used… you end up breaking down the cycle and everything falls apart.

The message in today’s card is about having the strength and wisdom (and this is where the meaning of the Oak comes into play for me today) to give that need for conservation it’s due.  Moderation is not easy… but it is necessary.

DECK USED:  HERBCRAFTER’S TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJuly Challenge Prompt
Topic:  I’m so overwhelmed.
Question:  Why do I treat others as more entitled to my time than I am?

Tarot of the Journey to the Orient

Reading Summary: It’s a bad habit (The Devil) that I try to ignore instead of dealing with (Eight of Swords)… that is, making choices that I know are not good for me (The Lovers Rx), and that then lead to imbalance and uncertainty (The Moon).

Take Away:  Weighing other’s needs and wishes above my own is a part of a self-destructive pattern of behavior where I use bad choices in how I prioritize my time and energy to create within my life a situation of stress and uncertainty when things start to fall apart as a result.

Ooph… okay so that really hit home, and framed things in a way that I hadn’t really looked at or considered before.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE ORIENT

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question:  Does learning inherently imply improvement?

New Palladini TarotReading Summary: We all come into this world with the capacity to love and thus emotional fulfillment is obtainable on its own (Ten of Cups).  Everything else takes work and the honing of skills (Eight of Pentacles) to achieve (Nine of Cups), and patience and moderation to master (Temperance).

Take Away:  Yes. Everything in these speaks of progression and improvement through experience and knowledge. Only emotional fulfillment can be achieved without this process, as we are all born with the capacity to love from the start.

DECK USED:  NEW PALLADINI TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  forgive // forget

Minchiate Etruria (Anima Antiqua)Temperance – Forgive yourself for your shortcomings and have patience with yourself. As long as you are moving forward, it’s okay to move forward slowly.  Take into consideration the physical hurdles and handicaps you have to work with, work around, and contend with in order to reach your goal and cut yourself a little slack.

Ten of Swords – Forget the damage done by others and life’s misfortunes. You have the physical scars you carry with you to remind you of the lessons learned along the way.  It’s okay to forget the pain and allow yourself to move on from it.

DECK USED:  MINCHIATE ETRURIA ANIMA ANTIQUA TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  Pick a card for creative inspiration.

The Fifth TarotNow is a time of “percolation and planning”. Allow your creative juices to flow beneath the surface and don’t worry about output or time right now. In yesterday’s read there was a point about not being able to force creativity, and that is the message repeated here today.  You can’t force it… you have to let it rise to the surface, and just prepare to be ready for its arrival so that you can take advantage of its presence when the time comes.

When it’s time to move forward, you will feel that spark of fire within your gut that tells you its time to leap.  Right now is not yet that time.

DECK USED:  THE FIFTH TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

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IMG_6178Tendril

Not always big.
Not always deep.
Sometimes
the drown comes
soft and sweet.
A tendril
that licks
against the skin,
brushing beneath
against the soul.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Weekly Creativity Prompt – My Summer

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Pull (at least) three cards use them as the foundation to convey your ‘summer experience’ thus far for this year.

Tarot manouche Universel du XXIe SiecleThe Devil – I’ve played it a bit fast and loose as I expanded my deck collection this spring and summer, especially in the area of my playing card decks. It’s not as if I didn’t have the money to do so, though, and although it’s time to reign myself in now, it was a nice bit of escapism for a while.

Wheel of Fortune – Despite my spending, things haven’t been all -that- bad so far this summer.  There’s been a good bit of ups and downs, and I’ve spent a lot of time working on finding my center and keeping my balance as chaos reins in the world around me, but most of the upheavals (other than the major global one anyway) have been somewhat minor and only created ripples instead of waves on the smooth surface of my life.

The Hierophant – Over the spring and summer, I’ve rediscovered my great joy for teaching others, as well as providing them with guidance and help even beyond the tarot.  I’ve very much enjoyed the opportunity to teach others and learn from them in turn, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do so, even if I’ve taken a little break from teaching formal classes over June and July.

DECK USED:  TAROT MANOUCHE UNIVERSEL DU XXIe SIECLE BY SANDRA JAYAT

Percolating is Not a Dry Spell

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IMG_5404Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long, and I chose to do a guided meditation today that focused on a method of using “volume control” as a way of quieting one’s mind during meditation, instead of shoving thoughts away or trying to reject or ignore them.

Sometimes brute force just isn’t the way to get what you want, and that can include when dealing with your own mind and ability to concentrate.  This meditation was a walk through on allowing thoughts to flit through, but turning down the “volume” on these thoughts until they move from shouting, to talking, then to murmuring, and finally to a quiet whisper in the background.

Women of Science TarotToday’s draw is the Nebula card, which comes from the oracle side of this deck’s cards. Scientifically, a nebula is a cloud-like substance in space made up of the death of old stars combined with gasses and other matter.  This essence is then where the birth of new stars take place, recycling old supernova remnants and other elements to give birth to something new.

I very much liked the line in the guide for this deck that speaks of this card being a reminder that before things can manifest into reality, they exist in a space of creative possibility and potential.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the eggs, which also speaks of possibility and potential.  Like the thought experiment of Schrodinger’s Cat, as long as the shell remains unbroken, there are infinite possibilities that lie within.  I also have a small draw to the volcano’s explosion in the background, which speaks to me of the explosive quality that creativity and manifestation can sometimes take on.

The message in this card today is about embracing one’s creative nature. Even in times when you are not actively creating, the potential is there and there continues to be “workings” going on in the mind deep beneath the subconscious.  Dry spells are not dry spells… they are times of subconscious percolation.

DECK USED:  COSMOS TAROT AND ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Question:  What issue should I wait on and avoid dealing with at this time?

Albano Waite TarotReading Summary: Don’t worry about stealin’ assholes right now (Seven of Swords). Whatever damage was going to be done, has been done now, so just focus on your emotional growth (Ace of Cups) and do your work (Two of Pentacles).

Take Away:  I’ve had so many warnings lately about sharing my inspired ideas and projects with others, that I’ve lost track of just how many warnings there has been.

The issue that I need to deal with later on has to do with the fact that I have either managed to avert this issue… or I’ve already fucked up and the fallout will come later on. For now, I need to focus on carrying on with carrying on as I have been.

DECK USED:  ALBANO WAITE TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  resist // rise up // revise

Veleda Woods Tarot

The message in these cards is not mine and does not fit my life. I had the feeling when I was pulling these cards, that this message is not for me. I don’t know who it is for… but perhaps it will resonate with someone in the different places that it is shared, or perhaps the intended recipient will stumble upon it by chance.

Resist – Nine of Cups – Conformity.  This interpretation is not about the 9 of Cups, but about the imagery on the card. Individuality is important.  Do not be one of the many, but take a leap through the door and allow yourself to be unique.  Conforming to the values of others and marching to their drum instead of thinking (and feeling) for yourself is not the answer.

Rise up – Guardian of Cups – The narrative you are given needs one’s heart and intuition to discern and dissect.  Instead of listening to what is being said, listen to what is not said which lies beneath the surface.  Listen to the emotions.  Do not allow those with ulterior motives based in negative emotions to carry you away with their narrative.

Revise – Ranger of Wands – Your outlook needs examining.  You take after your passions and those things you feel deeply about with zeal and power pushing you forward, but are you going in the right direction? You need to examine what lies beneath that drive to move forward and push against… that drive that keeps you going.  Make sure that what lies beneath is good and pure… not polluted by other’s narrative or your desire to “fit in”.

Take Away – If you have read this reading and it resonates with you… it is time to do some soul searching , and some close examination of the motivations that drive not just you… but those around you as well.  What undercurrents of emotion are truly driving those you follow, admire and listen to? Deep down, why do you choose to follow them in turn?  It’s time to reflect upon these questions.

DECK USED:  VELEDA WOODS TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  When am I creatively true to myself?

Wheel of the Year Tarot

Reading Summary: When I allow things to develop at their own pace (Seven of Pentacles), and don’t allow myself to become overburdened (Ten of Wands) or listen to much to my negative in her narrative (Queen of Swords).

Take Away:  The cards here indicate that you can’t “force” creativity either through expectation or through negative enforcement.  Creativity has to come through positive reinforcement and patience, allowing that spark to come alive and develop slowly over time.  The trip to manifestation is only the end result… the full process is beneath the surface and only begins to come into conscious awareness when it’s ready to be seen.

DECK USED:  WHEEL OF THE YEAR TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

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IMG_2361Appreciation

Little bit
that loves to cuddle
she comes to bed
to put me to sleep
then goes off
on nightly adventures.
Take a nap?
There she is.
Little red butt in my face
purring loud
and mussing my hair
until I doze off
to sleep.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography