Rising From the Ashes

Daily Calm with the Calm app - Alan Watts quoteToday’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #dailycalm sessions from the Calm app.  It went through a sensory exploration exercise while doing deep breathing, and then afterwards spoke of the 5-Senses technique for helping one calm and ground when anxiety is high.

Essentially, you count down through the five senses.  First you seek out five things you can see, then four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, then one thing you can taste.  It brings you into the present moment, allowing for some space to set aside what might be triggering you or overstimulating you in the moment.

Witch Sister Tarot's Ten of Stones (Ten of Pentacles) and the It's Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Ten of Stones (Ten of Pentacles) combined with the affirmation “Hey, rough months happen. It doesn’t mean the future will all be tiring and painful, too.”  In the illustration for this card we have a crone that appears to have a lot of experience under her belt and, based on the wealth she wears upon her chest, has done very well for herself.  Although craggy looking, she she also appears quite cunning as she winks at us from a place of stability.

Today’s cards are a reminder that struggles happen. December was a big month with a lot going on and a lot of people.  It was tiring and in some ways painful as well.  Now that the new year has come, it’s time to look forward to better things. Take how far you’ve come and look for opportunities to build on your successes, as well as share your experience with others along the way.

DECK USED:  WITCH SISTER TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@Lionharts #TheJanuaryTarot 2024 January Initiation Prompt
Question for January 2nd
: What does the universe urge me to work towards this January?

The Divina Serenity OracleManifestation – What do you want to see happen this year? What do you want to manifest in your life? You need to focus on those things now, for it is through slow progress and small steps over time that you create long lasting changes toward those things you want to manifest.

Grace – It can be difficult to move through chaos and moments of struggle with grace. The universe is urging you with this card to work on your responses to unexpected hurdles and move through them with more grace instead of allowing them to trip you up as they have in the past.

Notation: The theme in the illustration on both of these cards is water/sea based. It speaks of the resolution shared with Gideon (your Pisces king) this New Years to spend more time together this year.

DECK USED: THE DIVINA SERENITY ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2024 Challenge Prompt
Question for January 2nd
: Pull your most and least favorite cards from your deck and explain why you feel that way.

Note: My choices in this prompt are illustration based, rather than based on the card’s position, suit, or meaning in the tarot as a whole.

Witch Sister Tarot - Queen of Trees, Queen of Wands, Maid of Waters, Page of CupsLeast FavoriteQueen of Trees (Wands) – So many of the illustrations of the people in this deck are rawboned and gaunt, as if each character is malnourished and desperate. In this particular card, there’s not even any background illustration to soften this impression. The figure looks disenchanted, exhausted, and miserable… not at all what I would normally associate with the Queen of Wands.

Most FavoriteMaid of Waters (Page of Cups) – A little girl playing in water feels to me like the epitome of the Page of Cups. She is curious and imaginative, filled with potential for both seriousness and fun. The blue hues in the card promote calm and water itself is a representation of emotions. She may not be dipping her toes in those waters of imagination and emotion, but the fingertips are just as good.

DECK USED: WITCH SISTER TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I got up early to pack so that I wouldn’t have to stress about it (or putter about with it) all day before it’s time to leave for home.  It allows more time for me to relax and decompress before getting on the road.

Gideon’s Challenge

Cedar ForestWhere We Go

I crave raindrops
tapping out
slow rhythms
from cedar tips
to mossy ground
in muffled
melodies
that are scented
with the sweet aroma
of green
blended with
the sharp sting
of sap’s scent
on the senses

Photo © ZenStatePhotography