Time Off
Relaxation
irritation
beauty
and chaos.
Flawed peace.
Judgements
and guilt
justifications
for balance.
Choose to bask
instead of batter.
Taking time off is always hard for me, and it is no different this time. I feel like I struggle with guild, and I feel guilty saying it, but L and Z are getting on my nerves which is not helping my relaxation level at all. The fact is tho? They’re not judging me. I’m the one that’s judging me… and I need to stop.
Heather Carter on YouTube put together a series of prompts titled #31DaysofWitchcraft that she’s been working her way through since the beginning of May. I really liked this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next little while I would do one (or a few) at a time for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts. I still have a handful more to go… but this week I’m doing Prompt 7.
7. Do you work with a specific animal spirit? If so, which animal and why? If not, is there one you would like to work with?
Although I don’t work with specific animal spirits, I do feel a connection to them and have used their representations in ritual as a connection to specific energies. This isn’t something I do often though, as I feel that even if I am asking for permission first, there is an element of usury involved in using creatures (whether they be nature’s animals, the Fae, or any other creatures) in my magic and ritual.
This isn’t to say that animal spirits, or animals themselves, are not welcome in my practice. But, I feel that if the choice is not entirely voluntary, without me asking first, then it is taking advantage. Interestingly, bees are very eager to take part in my practice and are often drawn to my spellcrafting and ritual when it is performed outside. I’ve also had the occasional squirrel, butterfly, hummingbird, moth, caterpillar, fly, dragonfly, chipmunk, robin, ant, chickadee, crow, and the Fae step in to participate without request.
These unprompted voluntary participation are always welcome.
Today’s meditation was a shortie at only eight minutes long, primarily because I just couldn’t seem to convince the girls (including Miss Luna) to leave me alone long enough to get in a full meditation. It was still quite nice, but at the same time, aggravating due to the interruptions.
Today’s draw is the Maker Princess (Page of Pentacles) which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the areas of manifestation and creation, finances and resources, as well as hearth, health, and home.
The “Gift of Creativity” is a terrific prompt for this card, as is the Fae burdened with pregnancy. The Page of Pentacles is a card filled with possibilities. It indicates a time of learning, of growth, and of manifestation that is very eloquently expressed through the swollen belly of pregnancy… the ultimate act of manifestation.
This is the message of today’s card (not the pregnancy). It’s about potential, and about allowing yourself to be open to learning and growing, so that not just you grow, but your potential grows with you.
Whether you are creating another person, a piece of artwork, an opportunity for others, or your own comfortable nest… the act of manifesting something out of nothing is a miracle. It takes growth and experimentation.
#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling with boundaries in my relationships.
Question: How can I reframe the maintenance of boundaries as a necessary act of self-acceptance?
Reading Summary: To have joy (The Sun) you have to actually choose joy (Two of Swords) which means having faith (The Star) that that joy is OK and will lead to a good place (Four of Wands).
Take Away: Sometimes you have to take a blind step forward in the direction you think is right. For me, joy is like that. My background makes it hard for me to grasp that joy can lead to positive growth towards my goals. It’s hard to understand this because I have always been taught both through my youth and experience, that when you want something? You work for it. To me, joy and “working for it” seem incongruous. So in order to have the things I want… a lack of joy is necessary.
The cards here indicate that is not the case, and that I need to take that blind step forward to embrace joy and have faith that it will lead me to the stability I want… joy included.
#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Where could I benefit from a new perspective at this time?
Reading Summary: If the uncertainty that’s coming actually happens (The Moon) you need to embrace it and move into it with purpose (Knight of Wands), because it might actually end up being a good thing in the end (Queen of Cups).
Take Away: There is a possibility that having to move could put me into a position where I’m even happier and in a better, more emotionally strengthened position than the one I’m in now. Although the possibility is still a long way off, if it’s going to happen at all… if it does come to pass, I need to embrace what I see as an uncertainty and a hurdle as a challenge, and move forward with purpose.
In other words, stop looking at this as an upcoming catastrophe and push yourself towards seeing it as an opportunity. If the rumors that you hear come to be something real and moving ends up being necessary, embrace that with open arms and move forward into the project with purpose.
Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: What am I currently manifesting? What am I moving past?
What am I currently manifesting? – Knight of Wands – I’m working on taking control and actively preparing for the holiday rush to come. Although at this moment, I’m taking a few days off, even now I’m planning and preparing, just in a less stressful or aggressive way.
What am I moving past? – Two of Swords – Prior to finally feeling the pull to start preparing for the holiday rush, I felt I was in a moment of limbo and struggling with a bit of lack of direction. Although I was aware of this, I wasn’t really paying much attention to it, but the Two of Swords is a very good representation of that momentary lack of direction.
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What do I love about me?
Reading Summary: I am constantly fed by and inspired by (Ace of Hearts) my connection with the natural world and my spiritual path (The Star), which carries me forward with confidence in the direction I have chosen (Three of Clubs)
Take Away: This is about my certainty upon my path. It’s about knowing who I am and where I “fit”… and what fits for me. It’s about hearing that inner voice and following its guidance without fear of it being wrong or doubt in what it says.
I’ve never had a hard time in following that compass, or allowing myself to be pulled upon my spiritual path in the direction that feels right for me. I see a lot of people struggle with these things, and I am extremely grateful that it is not one of my own personal struggles.
Hope
Knots
beginning to loosen
and light
filters in.
A breath pulled
and
the expansion happens
tightness gone
constriction eases.
Tender but protected
scabs
replace raw wounds.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The subdrop is beginning to ease. Still here… but with an end in sight.
Today’s meditation was curtailed in preference for more sleep. I’m not recovering from the all-nighters the way that I used to. I guess it’s one of those “getting older” signs that I can’t just bounce back the way I used to. Instead of meditation, I chose to go with more sleep and more time with you. Tomorrow, I’ll get back on track with the self care, but today? I really just wanted to spend time with you and get through the crapload of mail that I’d picked up yesterday. I’m happy with the fact that I was able to manage both of those things today.
Today’s draw is is the Dancer Eight (Eight of Cups) card, which is traditionally a representation of walking away from a bad situation, abandoning what isn’t working, or releasing emotional burdens.
I like the interpretation in the key words for this card. “Escaping Stagnation” is a beautiful interpretation of the Eight of Cups. The imagery here of the woman leaving the dead grey waters behind her in preference for a path towards life and the sun speaks strongly to me of climbing out of the dark pit of depression to once again be able to recognize and seek out the light.
Depression, at least in my case, is not a choice. Although there is much I can do to stave it off and lessen its effects, the fact is that it isn’t a situational reaction but rather an imbalance. When climbing out of a depression, it feels an awful lot like the sloughing off of shadows that cling to one’s form and weighs one down, just as in this image the gray mud may try to cling, but slowly releases and sloughs away as she pulls free of its grip.
The message here is one of encouragement. A message to bolster the heart and mind and soul when things are feeling dark or overwhelming.
Everything is temporary… including the bad stuff.
#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Can we understand good without evil?
Reading Summary: Defenses up (Nine of Wands) in response to sloppy drunkenness (imagery in the King of Cups). A resting time for to gear up and recover from being overburdened (Knave of Wands), followed by depth of understanding through empathy (Queen of Cups).
Take Away: No. When we are approached by something unpleasant, we learn to create defenses, but we also grow, and through growth something good is born (empathy). This is the pattern shown in these cards.
Although I’m sure that good can exist without evil, I do not think that humanity is able to understand good without the existence of evil. The cards here speak of the things that create defensive feelings, and how we learn through growth. None of this is possible without lessons to help us in learning, and one of those lessons is given through the contrast we find between good and evil.
Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: How can focusing on creation support my path/journey?
Reading Summary: Youthful enthusiasm (The Fool) kindles the fires of creative ownership (King of Wands) and create a sense of emotional fulfillment in my creative endeavors (Ten of Cups).
Take Away: Focusing on creation instills a sense of eager enthusiasm in my life that feeds my creativity, swelling it to a point where my creative endeavors become consuming. This process is a part of the secret to my success and the sense of fulfillment that I receive from what I do.
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What lesson do I need to learn?
Reading Summary: You can’t get nectar from a stump (imagery in the Ace of Wands). Take what you’ve learned from the pain in your past (Ten of Swords) and compare it with the things in your life that make you happy now (Nine of Cups). Allow this contrast to soothe you to into resting (Four of Swords).
Take Away: I’m working too hard and I need to learn to truly rest. To do this, it will be important to take a look at how far I’ve come and all that I’ve over come, and compare it with what I have now and what makes me happy in my life at this time. In doing this, I can then allow this comparison to soothe my guilt over taking the rest that I need, and it will help in releasing me from the need to always be advancing.
The Spill
Here
There
and everhwyere
moving at
the speed of light
while in a dizzying
hamster wheel
a splatter
a spash
lets not
get in a crash.
Too many hours without sleep… too many miles to drive. Even after I finally made it home, I still felt like a crazy mess splattered all over the wall. Sleep is not overrated… ever.
Twisting the Leaf 