Fissures
If people
could see
the cracks
inside me
as easily
as a broken bowl
would I be
tossed away
and forgotten?
or recycled
into something new?
Month: October 2020
Morning Bonus Read – Challenging an Old Habit
The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“Continuing our theme for the month, some questions to ponder this week…”
What is something in your life that you are struggling to put to rest?
Ten of Clubs
My need to overburden myself with craploads of stuff to get done. Each week brings me that much closer to my six week nightmare of the holiday rush, and with each week that passes I feel more pressure (from myself) to put more and more on my plate and try to get more and more done.
What do you need to do to finally move forward with that goal, emotionally?
Seven of Hearts atop King of Clubs
It’s all about the choices we make and owning your actions and drive. If I want to move forward into keeping myself from being overburdened, I need to lean into leading rather than slaving. Taking control rather than allowing the vast array of things I feel that I need to get done to control me. In other words? if I want to move forward emotionally with this, I need to take control of my obligation oriented emotions that drive me to overwhelm myself with work.
What do you need to do to finally move forward with that goal, physically and mentally?
Nine of Hearts
Understand that I don’t need that overwhelm and strife in my life in order to feel like I’m succeeding. That means stepping back from all these things that are overwhelming me and allow myself time to re-evaluate. The world is not going to fall apart if I don’t pile these things on my shoulders, so maybe I need to just… not do it. It’s okay to not do it.
How can you best celebrate the steps you are taking to put to rest this thing in your life?
Eight of Spades
Putting to rest the tendency to overburden myself is really hard. To celebrate this, I need to move forward with my eyes closed. That is to say… allow yourself to be blind to the pile of work that needs to be done for once. Allow yourself to move forward with your eyes closed and do only what is needed instead of looking at the whole picture and everything I could pile on my plate. Find freedom in wearing the blindfold. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. This is one of those times.
DECK USED: FLONZ VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PLAYING CARDS
Manifesting Abundance
Today’s meditation was was a part of me soaking in the tub… of which I did for damned near three hours apparently. I didn’t mean to soak in the tub for three hours, mind you. But it turns out that I only want to get out of the tub while the water is hot.
Once it cools down? I’m happy to lie around in there forever until the temperature gets to shiver-inducing temperature. Even then? When the temperature has cooled I feel much more inclined to add a little more warm water to keep the temp going than actually get out. It makes getting motivated to actually get out of the tub surprisingly difficult.
Today’s draw is the Magician, which is traditionally a representation of being capable and skilled, and having all the tools at one’s disposal to deal with what needs done or dealt with. It’s about being resourceful and having the motivation and expertise at your fingertips to manifest into reality what you want (or want to happen).
What stands out to me the strongest today in the imagery of this card is the abundant bounty sitting on the table behind the figure.
With the Magician card being about manifestation, what I see here is someone that has found the skills and expertise necessary to manifest abundance into their life. This shows capability to care for oneself and others, to manage life and provide the resources needed.
Today’s card is a reminder that I am capable. That I am skilled. That I am more than able to care for myself and for others. More than able to deal with keep my business afloat. More than able to handle the things that need done, and to manifest the abundance needed for myself and those that depend on me.
DECK USED: MADAM LYDIA WILHELMINA’S TAROT
LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: How am I asked to honor the Spirit World this Samhain?
Reading Summary: Welcome home those that come to visit (Four of Wands) and spend time connecting with them (Two of Cups). Allow the emotional connections to happen and take the support offered in their presence at this time (Queen of Cups).
Take Away: Not all that come through from the spirit world do so to berate me. That is solely my father’s schtick. The cards here are a reminder that the spirit world as a whole is not my enemy and I can connect with it and make bonds through the veil that have nothing to do with him or the influences that he has had upon me and my life.
DECK USED: GOLDEN AGE OF HORROR COMICS TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: A Problem / What Action to Take / What to Wait On
A Problem – The Empress – Neglect. Lately I have been neglecting myself. Not eating as well as I should, not doing my meditations. Sort of retreating into myself and feeling off kilter in a general malaise sort of way. This isn’t just the drop, but rather an over all lack of enthusiasm for life and what it has to offer as a whole. It’s not healthy.
What Action To Take – Ace of Swords atop Two of Swords – I need to find a better way to communicate how I’m feeling. This isn’t my strong suit at all and will take a conscious effort, but finding the words is important.
What To Wait On – The Tower – Don’t catastrophize things just yet. It’s not the end of the world, just a bit of an uphill struggle of the moment. I need to remember that this isn’t some huge issue. It’s also not forever.
DECK USED: DARK GRIMOIRE TAROT
#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I strengthen my relationship with my Guides?
Reading Summary: Reach for them to help me make good choices (The Lovers) when I am feeling combative (Five of Wands) or down on my luck (Five of Pentacles).
Take Away: Sometimes, making the choices that are for my best interest, are not entirely an easy thing to do. Conflict and disillusionment can make impulses hard to resist, and there are times when hardships can pollute one’s view and make other perspectives difficult to see. This is the time when reaching for my spirit guides can help in strengthening our relationship, as it creates a conscious bond of trust instead of an unconscious one followed through intuition.
DECK USED: TWISTED TAROT TALES
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How can I keep my spiritualism focused?
Reading Summary: Stick with it and work at it (Three of Pentacles) through the ups and downs of life (Wheel of Fortune). Practice patience in your progress (Temperance), and kind understanding of yourself along the way (The Empress).
Take Away: Tenacity. The key to keeping my spiritualism focused is accepting that it’s going to have its ups and downs along the way and that you just need to stick with it regardless of that. The cards also note that providing myself with patience and understanding is more than just for work and the business, and needs to be applied to this area of my life as well.
DECK USED: ANNE STOKES GOTHIC TAROT
Gideon’s Challenge
Playing Games
A little whimsy
a bit of fun
a little cuteness
never hurt anyone
Sometimes we need
to just let go
a little giggle
can be hard won
Let your laughter
clear the air
and let your smile
spark creative flair
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Samhain and Halloween In My Practice
Today’s post is brought to you by one of my Discord servers. Below are some discussion questions that were posted for a “witchy chat” that they had on their server. Although I couldn’t attend the chat, I thought I’d answer the questions here.
Samhain Questions
- Is Samhain a holiday you celebrate or intend to celebrate?
Absolutely. Samhain is a holiday that my sister and I celebrate together each year.
- What does Samhain mean to you?
Samhain is the time of year when the veil is at its thinnest between our realm and that of the spirit world. It is a time to acknowledge and honor our ancestors and those loved ones that have passed on. It is also the witch’s new year, and marks the end of the wheel of the year’s cycle. After Samhain, the world goes into dormancy for a time and will then begin to rouse once more following Yule in December. This makes Samhain a perfect time for letting go of the past and past habits.
- What are your Samhain plans?
Each year my sister and I have a dumb supper to honor our ancestors and loved ones, followed by a ritual with much of the same theme. At the end of the ritual we include spellwork to assist in the letting go of things best left behind as we move forward and step into the energy of a new cycle on the other side.
- Do you consider Samhain to be the start of a new year? Do you have any “New Year” traditions you enjoy on Samhain?
I think I pretty much covered this above. L has shifted her new year to Beltane in the spring, but she still also participates in my celebration of it during Samhain in the fall. So in essence, we’re celebrating two new years, each one distinct from the other. For the fall new year, we often will write out things we wish to leave behind on bay leaves and cast them into the fire to release their energy from our lives. This part of our ritual is something we include each year without fail.
- Do you celebrate any other holidays around the same time as Samhain? What are they? How do you celebrate?
No. My previous holiday was Mabon in September, and my next will be Yule in December. That said, there are a lot of concepts of Samhain that are shared by other holidays in other cultures, a common theme and common thread of beliefs connecting these different holidays around the world.
- What do you think of the way that October has become “the season of the witch”? Do you enjoy that witch-themed things become more mainstream for at least a little while?
I don’t mind it. I guess the commercialism of it all should bug me. But the thing is? It is a time of year that makes it easy to find certain supplies and decor that you just can’t seem to get your hands on any other time of year. It opens society to a more accepting (if commercialized) view, which in turn makes it less dangerous to be a witch in the first place. So, in accepting the good with the bad, I suppose a little “Season of the Witch” each year isn’t an entirely horrible thing.
- Do you separate Samhain from Halloween and celebrate them distinctly from each other?
To me “Halloween” is about candy, parties, and trick or treating. It’s about costumes and fun and games. So yes. It is very much a separate thing from the solemn and respectful theme of Samhain.
I absolutely do celebrate both, sometimes with more leaning on one than the other… but always both.
It’s Just Dirt
At the moment, I’m playing catch up after having not kept up on my blog posts for a few days, so I don’t remember what the meditation was like today… or if I did it, to be honest. I will return to updating about my meditation each day once I’m caught up with my posts again.
Today’s draw is is the Five of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of tests, trials, and hardship in the area of one’s finances, resources, health, hearth and home, and manifestations.
What really stands out to me in this card are the crab creatures. I mean goddamn… at least they’re not spiders, right? Still. Creepy as fuck.
The creep factor aside, though, we have a depiction of a creature that is clearly not suited to the cold outside reaching for the warmth beyond the walls of the church. Caught in the cold, they look to the warmth of the light shining through the window and see salvation. Would they be welcomed in should they go knock on the door? Who’s to say? What world are we in? Perhaps they would be… or perhaps they would be turned away in fear.
The message here is not to be afraid of those in need. It’s easy to look at the homeless as something to fear… but the truth is? They’re people too. People that are down on their luck. People that are struggling. People that may not be on their medication because they can’t get their medication. Sometimes these situations make them dangerous, but more often than not? They’re just people struggling to stay alive.
It’s a reminder not to ignore these people or their plight… and to treat them with kindness. Take a moment to be grateful, perhaps, as well… that it is not you in that position.
DECK USED: TAROT OF HAUNTED HOUSE
LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: How/where can the Spirit World aid my current path?
Reading Summary: Providing me with quick direction (Eight of Wands) that will allow me to make good choices out of the options before me when I’m feeling overwhelmed (Seven of Cups), leading to a far more grounded and satisfactory emotional well-being (Queen of Cups).
Take Away: This is something that I am pretty much already aware of. My spirit guide are there to help me in making good decisions that are to my benefit. They are on my side and want to help, and all I need to do to take advantage of that help is listen and follow the guidance provided.
DECK USED: ZOMBIE TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I safely explore echos from the past that are trying to get my attention?
Reading Summary: The Seven of Wands is about defense, while the Queen of Wands is about “soft” control. In the Page of Cups we have the encouragement of an open heart, but there’s zippered lips and a snake heading towards her face in the imagery that indicates a need to take care just what you are opening yourself up to.
Take Away: The advice here is the need to stay on the defensive, and yet open to emotions even while being selective. Remember what you’ve learned so far about your emotions and your emotional intelligence, and when exploring the echoes of the past, it’s important to stay in control even while being receptive.
This is about balancing caution and receptivity, as well as about staying alert and aware so that you can go on the defensive when needed for safety’s sake.
DECK USED: HALLOWEEN MAGICK TAROT
#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I honor my relationship with my Guides?
Reading Summary: Take the time to listen (Temperance), focus on moving forward into someone better (The World), and treat yourself with understanding, while continuing to explore your emotional intelligence (King of Cups).
Note: The King of Cups in this spread is about how Gideon treats me, and using him as an example of how I should treat myself.
Take Away: In order to honor my relationship with my guides, I need to honor my relationship with myself and which includes being kind to myself and accepting of myself. I also need to stay focused on becoming a better me as I move along my path. In each moment of growth, they offer guidance that I need only to be receptive to in order to honor them. In being receptive to their messages, I then move forward, cycling from a lesser me to an even better me than the me that I was before.
Twisting the Leaf 