The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows: “Alright! It’s Halloween/Samhain, so let’s do some divination about what’s “haunting” us in our lives.”

What’s sitting over my shoulders and/or clinging to me?

Nine of Hearts, King of Spades atop Five of Hearts – Your inner narrative is a demanding taskmaster with harsh judgements and a sharp tongue.  It is putting in overtime trying to crush happiness under its boots and leave you aching and in need of retreat.

Is this something that will always be with me, or that I should try to work into my life?

Four of Hearts, Queen of Clubs atop Jack of Clubs – Although that inner narrative may be permanent, the amount of influence it has over your emotions is temporary.  Make sure that you are leaning into your passions, and dipping into creative endeavors and those things that motivate you, to help provide you with extra strength to resist that negative inner narrative when it rises up.

Or… is it something I need to banish and/or does not serve me to keep?

Eight of Diamonds and Nine of Clubs – Only hard work and good boundaries can keep the influences of that negative inner narrative at bay. It cannot be banished entirely, but it can be controlled and mitigated if you’re willing to put in the effort.

What is the best way to handle it at this time?

Three of Hearts atop Three of Spades, Jack of Hearts – Lean into others in your life to help lift you up when you start to feel the darkness creeping in. They have the ability to teach you how to lean into the positive and seek out optimism for an emotional lift during these times.  Something you’ve yet to master on your own quite yet.

DECK USED: ONCE UPON A TIME PLAYING CARDS