Ceanothus
Little buds
of palest blue
split
like a star
to unfurl
revealing delicate
bits of white
the heart of beauty
for bee’s delight
Your sunlight shines
upon my soul
and like these flowers
you make me glow
I love you.
Month: July 2021
Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)
These Saturday 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 is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.
The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?
Earth – Four of Wands and Athletics / Wild – You know that phrase “home is where the heart is“? Sometimes that means your home isn’t at where you live, but rather where you feel most comfortable and happiest. For you, that means it’s time to get your ass out into the woods again and do some hiking. Go somewhere that you can climb and really put some effort into the activity, and it will feel even more rewarding.
Air – The Sun and Attacking / Toughness – Negative inner dialogue is not your friend, and you need to stand strong in the face of it so that you can allow optimism to flourish. Don’t focus on that negative dialogue, but rather on positivity and optimism. If you uplift yourself, that negative inner voice will get bored and start to fade for a while. Negative reinforcement will only breed more negativity.
Water – Justice atop Page of Coins, Cuteness / Wild – Just like with your negative inner dialogue, you need to keep a check on your negative emotions. Combat them not with more negative talk and consternation, but with a sweet and understanding attitude and creative optimism. You can’t balance the scales by piling negative on top of negative.
Fire – Strength and Catnip Distraction – Some of the most wonderful and creative things happen when you’re distracted. Don’t consider that a weakness, for distraction can also be one of your greatest strengths. In other words, too much focus isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Waning – Jasmine (Finale / Fertility) – This week will give you the opportunity to clear out that stagnant energy that’s been stifling your creativity.
Waxing – Spearmint (Creative Expression) – You are a wordsmith, and this week will provide you with opportunities to let the shine. Expression, especially in the creative realm, is your forte and is at your fingertips this week. You have the ability to touch people with your words, so do so.
Take Away – A breath of fresh air is moving through your life this week. Make sure to breathe deeply and enjoy it. Keep your mind and your emotions leaning into the positive and optimism in order to make your days feel a bit brighter and keep your negative inner dialogue at an arms length.
DECKS USED: KIDDY KATS TAROT, POUNCE GAME CARDS, ORACLE OF THE ESSENCES 2ND EDITION
Balancing Out
Today’s meditation was… ugh…. you guessed it. Skipped again.
Today’s draw is the Ten of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of painful endings, coming to the end of a difficult life journey, defeat (or defeatist thinking), and moving on.
Sometimes life is unfair. Sometimes, things have to come to a head. And yeah, sometimes it really sucks. Everyone feels these moments of defeat and as if life is picking on them. Everyone.
That doesn’t mean that life is against you, though, or that you’re cursed with bad luck. What it means is that your life is out of balance in some way, and is trying to balance itself out and align itself along the path you need to tread. You’ve gone off course… and often, the crappy shit happening in your life is a course correction to put you back on the right path.
Don’t forget this during troubled times. Trust that life is seeking balance. Sometimes that means crappy shit has to happen.
DECK USED: THE FOX TAROT PIPS EDITION AND LESS ANXIETY AFFIRMATION CARDS
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt by E Roebuck-Jones
Question for July 24th + Bonus Question
If I could live my life more creatively, I would…
Drought and Six of Pentacles
…find myself struggling to contribute more to others.
The thing is? I only have so much time in a day and so much energy to give out. More time pushed into creative endeavors means less time for other people, less time for myself, and less time in general. Creativity takes time, and no matter how much I might enjoy it, I don’t enjoy the drought of energy and feelings of burnout that overextending myself can bring with it.
How can I balance my energetic output for a healthier and happier life?
You Are Sacred and Five of Cups Rx
Stop ignoring what you need. Treat yourself as if you are sacred, instead of as an afterthought. Your needs are important and shouldn’t be put off or ignored.
This is something I’m working on, although those six weeks of the holiday rush are coming, and as much kindness as I can give myself now, I know that time of energetic drought mentioned in the first question is coming.
DECK USED: THE EARTHCRAFT ORACLE AND THE EXPERIENTIAL TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsJul2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: Where in life do I need to be more serious and buckle down?
Reading Summary: Moving away from (Three of Wands) allowing your childhood and past negative experiences (Six of Cups Rx) to influence the present and how you treat yourself in the now (Ten of Wands atop Nine of Cups).
Take Away: Although you’re taking time off, and you’re working on putting the past in its place, you’re still in a mindset where you’re trying to overwhelm yourself with things to do and that need to get done. It’s blocking your path to happiness and it’s something that you’re going to have to deal with, because it’s not going to go away on its own.
Work at building that severing gap between the present and the past, and remember that it’s okay to go slow, to take time for your self, and to dawdle when you’re enjoying yourself.
DECK USED: THE FOX TAROT PIPS EDITION
So, this is a bit different from my normal self kindness today. I made the conscious choice to not get upset and worked up about EA and his super rude, thieving ways. Normally the kind of shit he pulled would really bug me a lot, but I feel like I just don’t have the “oomph” to really give a fuck where he’s concerned.
Gideon’s Challenge
Delicate and Tenacious
Hope is a glowing star
in a night sky,
a shimmering flower
in the shade
delicate and open
vulnerable and lovely
easily crushed
with a careless hand
or the wrong conditions
and yet
given the chance
to flourish and shine
with the smallest kiss
of encouragement
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Morning Bonus Read – Self Valuing
The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This week, let’s value ourselves by looking for ways to accommodate our needs. Ask your divination tools:”
What is an area where I need extra support?
Four of Spades – You need to stop and rest more. Take more breaks while working. Intersperse rest and recovery into the every day more instead of reserving it just for special occasions. You won’t get so tired and need those longer rests so much (and will be able to enjoy them more) if you allow yourself a bit of rest along the way.
What support or accommodations can I give myself in this area?
Three of Hearts – One of the ways you can accommodate yourself in this area is to let others help you more. Not just help you in bearing the weight of work and responsibility, but allowing them to help you enjoy your down time, to help you decide when you need to take a break, and help you have more fun during those longer breaks as well.
What support or accommodations do I need from others around me in this area?
Four of Hearts and Eight of Clubs – Allow yourself to rest while they work. It will help them to pick up the speed on their own rather than you always being in the mix slowing things down. They don’t need your constant supervision. They are more than capable of doing these things without you there hovering all the time.
What outcome can I expect if I get this support?
Jack of Spades atop Eight of Spades – More time to sort out your own shit (especially mentally) rather than constantly pushing it aside. This isn’t about sorting through these things faster, but will allow for a higher quality of attention to be paid to this process, creating room for better results.
What outcome can I expect if I do not pursue this support?
Five of Diamonds atop Ten of Hearts – A happy family and no money. ’nuff said.
DECK USED: ARCHAIOS MUTHOS PLAYING CARDS BLACK EDITION
Reality Check
Today’s meditation was skipped because it’s Friday and I had a long 6 hour drive to get to doing and didn’t feel like putting off getting on the road to get it done. Then when I got home I felt that a nap was better use of my time.
Today’s draw is the Five of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of scarcity, tests, and trials in the area of one’s finances, resources, home life, health, manifestations, and the physical world.
When you look at the imagery in today’s card, the figure is definitely wrapped up in their feelings of scarcity. So much so that they aren’t even aware of the offered coins around them or the shining light of the candles. This is something that really speaks to me, as sometimes, as in my case, scarcity is all in our heads.
In these instances, instead of being a reality in the physical world, the feelings of scarcity are a product of scars we carry within us from times where things were far more difficult and our needs we’re not being met. This is often the case where I am concerned. I’ve worked hard to get to a place where I’m not terrified I might not have enough food to survive… and yet sometimes that worry is still there, even if no longer based in reality.
The affirmation card for today, combined with today’s draw, is a reminder that we’re allowed to enjoy life. It’s okay to acknowledge how far you’ve come, and how much better off you are now. It’s okay to look at the present and remind yourself that things -could- be worse, and how good you have it in the now. Is it where you want to ultimately end up? Probably not. But count your blessings, yeah? Cuz it could be worse… and in most cases? It’s not as bad as it feels like it is.
DECK USED: JOIE DE VIVRE TAROT AND LESS ANXIETY AFFIRMATION CARDS
Cosmic_Crow_Tarot’s #FreedomTarotChallenge Prompt
Questions for July 23rd and 24th
What do I need to be more tolerant of?
Black Medic (Medicago lupulina) and Eight of Batons atop Five of Swords
The over eager. The meddlers, or what you perceive to be meddlers. The gossipers that are always oh so ready to dive in and take over the conversation.
Don’t forget that these people have lots to share and the information gleened can be useful. Is it always? Absolutely not. But there’s little nuggets of useful hidden in the torrent. So don’t just tune them out and disregard everything that comes out of their mouths.
What am I too tolerant of?
Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) and Three of Pentacles
Clingy people who “only want to help”. Remember that just because they say that they had altruistic intentions doesn’t mean that they did. Nor does saying so excuse bad behavior. Don’t be afraid to make it clear you know that they’re “I just want to help” is false. Don’t be afraid to rip away the blindfold they’re trying to place over your eyes (and the eyes of others).
DECK USED: UNRULY GAME CARDS AND NIGEL JACKSON’S ROSE TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsJul2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self-care for this full moon?
Reading Summary: Slow down (Knight of Coins) on making any important life changing decisions right now (Eight of Cups and Two of Swords).
Take Away: Take it easy. Take it slow. Don’t make any stress inducing or life changing decisions for yourself or others. This week, even though you’re back to work, take a little extra “easy time” for yourself by putting off important decisions for a while. You may find that with a bit more time to let things percolate, that the decisions will be far easier to make when needed.
DECK USED: JOIE DE VIVRE TAROT
So many of these self kindness things are about me taking naps, but I have to admit that’s exactly where my self kindness came in today. I didn’t mean to sleep as long as I did, but I let myself lie down for a short nap and felt a lot better for having done so.
Twisting the Leaf 