The Invitation
A quiet rustle
a whisper beacons
“come and play”
it says to me.
Instinct warns
“do not go in”
but the Faery dance
will soon begin.
In I delve
to dance and play
and while away
another day.
Month: September 2020
Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Salesman
Pull up to three cards use them as the foundation to tell us a cautionary tale.
Temperance – There was once an insurance salesman named Nick that spent his entire life taking one caution after another. He never over-ate, even when the food was good. He never over spent, no matter how much he might want something. He never took a single risk in his life. Because he sold life insurance to others, he felt it was important to live by example and show people that with proper precautions and proper care it is possible to live a long and healthy life, spend as much time with their loved ones as possible, and then pass away knowing those loved ones would be cared for.
Justice – The irony was that Nick didn’t have any loved ones. He spent his life alone, moving from day to day and year to year living an empty life with not a single remarkable moment with which to hold close and treasure. His over abundance of caution in turn left him in a prison of his own making.
The World – One day as he was creeping up on his sixth decade of life, he met a lovely silver haired woman named Meredith. This woman was beautiful and vibrant, with a laugh that spoke volumes about a life well lived and fully enjoyed. She enchanted him with her smile and began to pull him into her life one small step at a time, introducing him to a world of bright colors and bountiful flavors and memories filled with joy. And as he spent more and more time with her, he moved further and further away from the old and drab life he had lived, and into a new and vibrant life of joy and celebration.
Moral of the Story – Don’t allow an overabundance of caution to hold you back from filling your life with vibrant experiences and joyous relationships.
DECK USED: CREEPY TAROT
Value Through Time
Today’s meditation was the site of an impromptu nap today. Which is to say that I did intend to meditate but I only made it in a few minutes before I ended up dozing off into a nap.
What I wanna know? Is how in the hell I can go from being all the way down to the wall with my legs propped up on the wall, fall asleep, and somehow wake up stretched full length on the bed. How did I manage to move all the way down the bed in order to stretch out without waking up?
Today’s draw is bunnies!! No, just kidding. I mean not kidding because it is bunnies, but that’s… right, okay. Anyway. Today’s draw is the Ten of Coins, which is traditionally a representation of satisfactory outcomes, contentment, and sharing the wealth you have worked so hard for with your loved ones to create fulfillment for all. It’s about wealth that goes beyond money and can include one’s health, home, stability, security, as well as their resources and manifestations.
This card is so damned cute, but what really stands out to me in this card today is the moon phases that run up along the left side of the card from the new moon at the bottom left all the way up to the full moon at the upper right corner.
The appearance of this cycle portrayed in this card speaks to me of manifestation over time. The new moon is the seed of new things, the beginning energy that grows and matures over the length of the moon’s cycle until it is at full power upon the full moon’s appearance, just as when you are building security and comfort, you have to start at the beginning and work over time to accrue what you need to get to where you want to be in life.
The message in this card today is about how the things worth having take time to accomplish. Nothing easy is as valued as those things you work for, strive for, build over time, and accomplish through hard work and patience.
DECK USED: BOTAN TAROT
#Zentember #LovelyHealing Challenge Prompt
Question: What needs to be expressed?
Reading Summary: Passionate pursuit (Page of Wands) of my man (King of Cups) is providing me needed respite (Four of Swords) over new opportunities (Ace of Pentacles).
Take Away: In other words, enjoy this time with Gideon while you can. When I pulled these cards I thought that it would be an answer on what I need to express… but it turns out it’s something that needed to be expressed to me. These cards were meant to remind me that today is our last day to enjoy any decently large bulk of time together before he goes on vacation. I missed this message first thing when I drew these cards, although I did catch the part about valuing and enjoying the time I have.
The thing is? I’m extremely good at creating opportunities for myself, especially when it comes to creative pursuits and making money. So it can be hard for me to step back and rest, recover, and truly enjoy that respite instead of struggling against it and my nature to move forward and do more. What I needed to hear was that I need to step back, take a breath, and enjoy this last day of freedom.
DECK USED: 20TH CENTURY TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsSep2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Your Addiction / How to introduce Moderation
My Addiction – Allowing myself to get so wrapped up in my passions (Queen of Wands) that the rest of the world (and the rest of myself) falls away (King of Cups Rx).
How to Introduce Moderation – Focus on the positive things you’ve done (Six of Wands) and stay vigilant against letting old habits resurface (Seven of Wands).
Take Away – I was actually expecting a different addiction to come up in these cards today. *LOL* This one works, tho. Anyway, it’s absolutely true. When I become involved in a project, I close myself off from the world and even from myself. During this time, I exist in this quiet grey area where the only thing that exists is the endeavor I’m working on, and the passage of time in block like increments. This allows me to work very quickly for huge chunks of time without feeling much in the way of negative effects physically or emotionally.
And… it’s not healthy. At all. This year has been all about trying to shift me into a place where I can get through the holiday season without doing that, so it makes sense that it would come up now in this reading.
The cards here indicate that the key to making sure that I don’t fall back into this unhealthy habit is to keep in mind just how good I have done this year at changing my work process and how I deal with not just stress but pressure… and stay vigilant against the appearance of warning signs that this old habit has started to try and sneak back in.
DECK USED: SAMIRAMAY TAROT
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: Do I feel I deserve love, compassion, and empathy?
Do I Feel I Deserve Love?
Queen of Swords – Lepidolite & Gentian
Lepidolite is a stone that contains high levels of lithium… an element that is used as a medication to stabilize moods. Gentian root is used to help in an array of digestion problems. Together, what I see in this combination is the need to take what creates your torment and turmoil and work through it. Consider what has happened and come to peace with it.
Examine the past to find strength in the present is the theme of this card. When I examine my past, I see that those in my past had made love something that is conditional. In the present, through Gideon, my sister, and Z I have discovered that true and abiding love is anything but. It’s not something to be earned, but is something that we all deserve, no matter who we are or how worthy we feel of it.
Do I Feel I Deserve Empathy?
Nine of Cups – Emerald & Rose
Both emeralds and roses are highly valued for their beauty throughout history, and are both strongly associated with themes to do with romantic love and domestic bliss.
Like love, empathy is something that everyone deserves but very few receive. The card here and blend of emerald and rose upon it indicate that I am very happy with where I am in the scheme of empathy. I am receiving what I need to in order to work through my trauma, and those that support me do so in the ways I need… including providing empathy when I need it.
Do I Feel I Deserve Compassion?
Eight of Pentacles – Garnet & Cherry
Garnet and cherry wood have something in common that most perhaps do not realize, but actually is the basis of their combination on this card. They are both excellent foundational building blocks to create something of great quality and beauty.
These “strong bones” (as they would say of a house) are a reflection of the foundation and strength that I have within me that allows me to weather one storm after another.
That said… Do I deserve compassion? Absolutely. But I am strong enough to continue on regardless of if others choose to bestow it upon me or not.
Being mute, this is something that you notice often is either present in your interactions with others or is not. In those that give it, there is an underlying strength that runs deep within. Being able to express compassion without pity is a beautiful thing, and something that is very, very rare.
In this way, this card reflects not just my own strong foundation, but also the strength of others that possess this rare quality.
DECK USED: TELLURIC TAROT
Gideon’s Challenge
The Unexpected
Everyday
you see the trains
as loud rumbles
shake the earth
and screaming breaks
scratch at the brain.
And yet do you ever
really look?
Open your eyes
and see
unexpected artistry
and humor
that waits for thee.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Don’t Forget Your Pants
Today’s meditation was just under eleven minutes long and was one of the guided meditations with interval timer that focuses on fostering love and light, first toward yourself, then towards your loved ones, and eventually expanding that energy outward to the world at large and all that are within it.
It’s funny, because I always do pretty well when it comes to the first two, but at the last one I stumble a bit. It’s not that I don’t understand the concept of spreading love and light around the world… it’s that I dislike the feeling of expelling free-flowing energy without a boundary or tether to myself. So, I feel that this preference ends up limiting my “reach” when it comes to trying to do this sort of exercise.
This isn’t so much a “can’t” as a preference. I feel that I touch other’s lives in a wide variety of different positive ways. Through my interactions both in person and online, through my work and the jewelry I make that I then send out into the world, and through all of the different small things I do each day for others. I just don’t feel that that fully open and free flowing energy is one of those ways that suits me best.
Today’s draw is is the Knight of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of an active beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s intellect, thoughts, communication, and instincts. This often translates into impulsivity, ambition, and all-or-nothing thinking.
What stands out in the imagery of this card today is the figure in the foreground with his staff and helmet. Impulsivity is one of the key themes of the Knight of Swords, and look at that… this guy in the imagery is so raring to go that he forgot to put his pants on.
I’m pretty sure that pants are of key importance when going into battle. In fact, I’d venture to guess that there are very few battles out there that you’d be keen to be without them.
The message in today’s card is to make sure you’re prepared. Take the time and the forethought to prepare properly and have yourself in full gear before you step out the door into the fray. In other words? Don’t forget your pants.
DECK USED: HUSH TAROT
#Zentember #LovelyHealing Challenge Prompt
Question: How to improve my communication?
Reading Summary: Forced departure from a simpler perception (Three of Swords). Unpredictable and uncontrollable outcomes overlapping the application of thoughtful experimentation. Trust your gut to make the right choices (Seven of Cups).
Take Away: You need to accept that sometimes? There’s just no way to avoid pissing people off or tripping over someone’s triggers. It happens and it’s not always your fault… sometimes it’s no one’s fault at all. It’s just how the chips fall. As long as you’re making the best decisions you can with the info you have available, and trusting your gut when it demands to override logic? Then you’re doing just fine.
DECK USED: SCIENCE TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsSep2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What lessons can Libra season (which begins on the 23rd) teach me this year?
Reading Summary: Sometimes when things feel out of control or off kilter (Wheel of Fortune) you spend too much time spinning your wheels (Knight of Spades) which, if allowed to go on for too long (Seven of Diamonds), can result in stressful situations rising up to smack you in the face (Dog in the Seven of Diamonds).
Take Away: So my lesson for Libra season is that it’s okay to procrastinate, but only so long as you don’t procrastinate for so long that it creates problems. I’ve been really struggling with the whole procrastination thing over the past couple of weeks, and the cards keep reassuring me that it’s okay. Here, I’m given a reminder that it’s only okay for a while… not forever. I need to learn where that line is.
DECK USED: TAROT OF REINCARNATION
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How can I better accept myself, including my faults?
Reading Summary: Judge yourself as you would others (Judgement), take your time because it takes time to get there (Knight of Coins), and don’t be so defensive (Nine of Wands).
Take Away: The cards here outline three separate keys that work together in helping me accept myself and my faults better.
Key 1) Judge yourself as you would others. I am so much nicer to others in my judgements than I am on myself. I know this, and I have been trying to be more forgiving, but I understand I still have a long way to go.
Key 2) Take your time because it takes time to get there. Everything work having is worth working for, and a lot of those things also require patience in order to earn them. I’m often far too impatient with myself, and this is why I push myself so hard. The Knight of Wands is all about forward motion and patience.
Key 3) Don’t be so defensive. This isn’t something that I necessarily show all that often externally. But there are times when my faults show through and are called out on… that I feel very defensive and hurt on the inside about it. I need to remember that everyone has faults and that’s not just allowed but okay.
DECK USED: THE PAINTED TAROT
Gideon’s Challenge
Confession
I miss it
the sweet and fuzzy
smiley warmth
the tingle of lips
and purring voice
I miss the lazy
languid buzz
Capt’n Crunch munchies
and a relaxing
little doze.
Once upon a time, I loved the green. The thing is, though? It’s not good for me. It counter acts my anti-depressants, creating a dangerous situation as it’s my anti-depressants that keep the suicidal urges at bay. The hangover… the aftermath effects… it’s not worth it. But, I still miss it. Just sayin’.
Twisting the Leaf 