Month: September 2024

Keep Fighting

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyCalm sessions from the Calm app.

Honestly? I can’t remember what the meditation was about.  I listened to the whole thing, followed the breathing exercises, et al. Unfortunately, whatever the message was behind today’s session… it didn’t stick, since I can’t remember a single bit of it.

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Hush Tarot's Five of Swords and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Five of Swords combined with the affirmation “No matter how awful today is, you get to curl into bed at the end of it.”

Some days are just fucked and there’s nothing you can do about it except keep fighting. Keep going. Thrash your way through the weeds and obstacles and do what you can to stay on your feet and come out the other side victorious.

The cards for today are a reminder that there’s an end to that fight.  It might not feel like it in the moment, but don’t give up.  Once you’re victorious, that rest that comes afterward will feel that much more sweet for having made it through.

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

#DiscordTarotholicsSep2024 Challenge
Prompt for September 30th : Grab a spread of your choice that you’ve been curious about… and give it a go!
Spread: So You’re Uncomfortable ~ A spread for sitting in discomfort rather than running from it

Okay, so the first time I did this spread today, I was just off from having been talking to a friend about the death of her father and… welp.  Lets just say that I’ve done this spread twice today, because the first time I did it was too close to the phone call and the reading accidentally ended up being about her and her situation.

Here is the second attempt, which is mine… and far lighter than the first time around.

So You're Uncomfortable Tarot Reading with the Hush Tarot - The Hermit, Six of Pentacles, Knight of Cups

A tension point.

Six of Pentacles – A lack of generosity towards yourself. You are unable to treat yourself as kindly and fairly as you treat others, and spend far too much time beating yourself up mentally and emotionally while pushing yourself to fulfill unreasonable expectations of excellence and perfection.

A truth about your discomfort.

The Hermit – You do this to yourself, and by closing yourself off to others, it only perpetuates the pattern.

Something you can do to stay present.

Knight of Cups – Acknowledge and stay in touch with your needs and wants. Go after them instead of setting them aside. They are just as important as your responsibilities and ambition. Perhaps you need to consider that they aren’t just as important… but more important and should be prioritized as such.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Western White Fir Tip for Staying True to Self
Foraged Red-Stemmed Feather Moss for Attentive Understanding
Carnelian Agate for Warmth and Courage
Cedar Smoke Cleansing Bundle for Protection
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: HUSH TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I hopped back on the meditation train… two days in a row now!

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

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Today’s meditation was nine minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions in the Calm app.

The topic of today’s session was about plateauing in one’s practice. That is to say that just like when learning a skill, or losing/gaining weight, or any other experience where you are learning and changing over time, there is always going to be plateaus where you level out and feel like you aren’t making any more progress.

This guided meditation spoke about that experience, and encouraged the listener to consider plateaus as a time for your body and mind to process without conscious thought. This meditation session reminds us that just because you aren’t aware that you’re growing doesn’t mean that you’re not growing. The plateau is a time for the things that you have learned and growth you’ve made to cement themselves into place and become permanent.

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Bone Dead Tarot's Eight of Swords and Soul Creatures OracleToday’s draw is the Eight of Swords combined with the affirmation “I shape my own destiny with skill and precision.”

The Eight of Swords is about what you are not seeing, and perhaps even willfully being ignorant about.  The cards for today are a reminder that precision requires awareness. Not just self awareness, but also awareness of the world around you. That precision falls into the weeds and skill isn’t worth much if you aren’t paying attention.

Thus, if you want to shape your own destiny and meat your goals with precision and skill? You need to make sure that you are paying attention to what’s going on around you.  Don’t stick your head in the sand and expect everything will turn out okay.  That’s just setting yourself up as a buffet for the wolves.

DECK USED:  BONE DEAD TAROT AND SOUL CREATURES ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsSep2024 Challenge
Prompt for September 28th : Ask a Stupid Question Day – Ask your cards a stupid question and see what they say.
Prompt for September 29th : Do Spread 2
Question : What would happen if I just skipped the holiday rush this year?

Halloween Postcard Oracle and Bone Dead Tarot - The Emperor, The Sun, The Beginning

Reading Summary:  You might feel empowered by skipping the holiday rush, but it would be the beginning of the end for your goals and dreams, even if you enjoyed taking it easy and basking in the glow of the holidays.

In the Emperor card, the surrounding gold glow reflects the border at the bottom of the anchor card. This indicates that the feeling of empowerment that you would feel by skipping the holiday rush is only a mask, as is indicated in the words “Halloween time” in the bottom border. In the moment, it might conflate your ego to do as you please and make you feel like you’re in charge, but that is an illusion.

The black miasma of the beginning card is reflected in the hissing black cat in the lower left-hand corner of the anchor card. You won’t like the result of your actions. It may be the beginning of something, but would be the beginning of the end of what’s important to you, and that fact would put you on the defensive in the long run.

The radiant sun in The Sun card reflects in the yellow of the broom… but only just. Combined with the carefree skeleton and his colors connecting to the moon in the background of the anchor card, what we see here is a moment of pleasure that will quickly be swept away. You may enjoy the warm glow of loved ones and the holiday season, but it won’t last and by closing your eyes to what is important, the feelings of success experienced in stepping away (as seen in the The Emperor’s horns also matching the skeleton in The Sun, and the moon in the background of the anchor card) will only be temporary (setting sun instead of high in the sky).

Take Away: Well, it’s a stupid question for a reason! It is obviously a bad idea, as you knew before you asked. That temporary sense of relief and control that comes with rejecting your responsibilities (and what is your greatest source of income over the next few months) may feel empowering in the moment, but will lead to destruction of all that you’ve worked for in the end. The pleasure and feelings of success for stepping away would be temporary, just as the sun sets instead of staying continuously in the sky.

DECK USED: BONE DEAD TAROT AND SELF-MADE HALLOWEEN POSTCARDS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I let myself sleep in late because I struggled to fall asleep last night.

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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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?

Self-Care Saturday Tarot Reading with the Bianco Nero Tarot and Oracle Lumière d'Orient

Earth – King of Cups atop The Sun – Time with Gideon is going to be essential this week, and physical contact is important. Make sure to avoid further subdrops in order to keep things light and happy, and get the most out of this time with him.

Air – Two of Pentacles – Don’t stew on one thing to the deficit of other things in your life. Slipping into flow state feels really good, but when you sink so deeply into a singular focus you neglect everything else. Now’s not the time for that.

Water – Death – Don’t fight. Don’t fight against your current subdrop, and don’t fight against the shifting emotions you experience. Everything is temporary, and the key is to acknowledge and move with the shifts and changes, not to resist them and fight a losing battle to keep things stagnant.

Fire – Ace of Wands Rx – No new projects this week, and as noted in the Air position already in this reading, no sinking into flow state. Work on getting done some of the things that you aren’t entirely enthusiastic about and get them out of the way.

Waning – Coffin and Man – Put to bed the need to project common male stereotypical behavior. It’s a defense mechanism. It’s okay to be vulnerable. It’s okay for people to -see- that you are vulnerable.

Waxing – Scythe and Tower – This is the resurfacing of a warning on repeat from earlier in the year. Watch closely those around you, and quickly purge from your life those that are not healthy for you.

Take Away – Be vulnerable and allow the subdrop to run its course instead of trying to smother it or ignore it.

Lean into others you trust, and stay far away from those that don’t have your best interests at heart this week.

Work on prep for the holiday rush that you’ve been putting off and get it done.

DECKS USED: BIANCO NERO TAROT AND ORACLE LUMIÈRE D’ORIENT

Your Own Pace

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Tarot of the Little Prince's Page of Pentacles and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Page of Pentacles combined with the affirmation “It’s okay to grow at your own pace.”

Not only is it okay to grow at your own pace, it’s okay to look like an idiot or a chump while you’re doing so. Starting something new often comes with a period that feels even more lost and stupid then the “novice” stage. A lot of times people avoid beginning something new or returning to something that they failed at in the past to try again specifically because they fear making a fool of themselves or looking the fool to others.

The message in today’s cards is that everyone has these same fears and experiences with trying new things. That doesn’t mean you give up or turn away from something you want to try. It means that you do it anyway, and pay attention to your own progress and do things at your own pace, instead of worrying about what others think.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@mercurytarot #SensualSeptemberTarot Challenge
Prompts for September 24th, 25th, 29th, and 30th

Tarot of the Little Prince and Thistledown OracleWhat are my sexual fears?

King of Cups and Ferocity – Disappointing your partner. His need for you, sexually and otherwise, is so fierce. When your fears get the best of you, you worry that if you can’t keep up that he will first feel neglected and then begin to stray. Not necessarily stray physically, but in his heart and mind.

What are my sexual fantasies?

Page of Cups and Intrigue – Although you have not been a virgin for a long time, you love bringing that aspect of things into your sexual encounters with your partner. He loves the feeling of being “first”, and you love giving that to him while revisiting that experience of anticipation and newness for yourself under his hands.  Sometimes it feels almost like rewriting history.

What new habit can I commit to?

Three of Wands and Release – Let go of your need to plan out every little aspect before moving forward. In the nature of this challenge’s focus on the sexual side of life, this means that it’s okay to be impulsive. It’s okay to jump in with both feet. You don’t have to worry about the crash and burn, because he’s there for you as a safety net.

What’s next for me sexually?

Page of Pentacles and Re-energize – Keep going with the new experiences and trying new things. It keeps the spark alive for both of you.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE AND THISTLEDOWN ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I took time to get next month’s templates all set up for these blog posts. It makes things easier in the long run if all the formatting is already ready to go and I can just pull the cards and write up my impressions rather than worrying about the formatting and everything else at the same time.

Wonderment and Awe

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Ace of Wands from Tarot Minchiate al Leone di Girolamo and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Ace of Wands combined with the affirmation “Time for yourself is not selfish. It’s self-care.”

Enthusiasm is an important part of life. It helps add spark to one’s spirit and allows us to see the world through the lens of eager discovery and exploration.

The cards for today are a reminder that we need to make sure that we are directing that sense of discovery and exploration to more than just the world around us, but also to delving into knowing ourselves and our needs better… and finding ways to sate them.

There was an article in the HuffingtonPost about seeking out awe in our lives and how that can improve our lives as a whole. It reminded me of how I used to feel when I would take my camera (the big heavy pain in the ass one) out into the world to capture the things I found miraculous and fascinating.  This reading is a reminder that maybe it’s time to pick up the camera again instead of letting my phone “be enough”.  That conscious act of carrying the camera around? It was like a treasure hunt… a treasure hunt that’s just not the same when you have your phone camera there so easy and simple to forget about or dismiss.

DECK USED:  TAROT MINCHIATE AL LEONE DI GIROLAMO AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@tarot_juf Een Uitnodiging voor de herfst #SeptemberTarotChallenge
Prompts for September 26th, 29th, and 30th

Lunar Eclipse Tarot and The Ripple DeckWhat can I put aside for the coming winter, to pick up again in the spring?

Nine of Wands atop Nine of Swords Rx – Put aside your worries over if you are doing enough to fulfill your responsibilities and protect what is important to you. You’re sliding into a period each year where you give so much of yourself that there’s absolutely nothing left for anything else. Don’t second guess yourself in this, for you’re doing more than enough.

I may take this lesson with me from the calming nature this month.

The Lovers and Self-Discipline – This month has continued to encourage you to make health choices that are right for you, stressing that this is imperative to your well-being.  These cards are also a reminder that part of making healthy choices for yourself includes not just acknowledging but utilizing the fact that there are others in your life willing to help you stay on track if you let them.

A card to close the month; what do I take with me?

Eight of Wands Rx and Awe – This answer is an echo of the card-of-the-day pull that you did earlier. Slow down and smell the roses. Tap into the energies of discovery, wonderment, and awe. Pull your camera out and go for a walk.

DECK USED: LUNAR ECLIPSE TAROT AND THE RIPPLE DECK

Daily Self Kindness

I can’t say that I was particularly kind to my body today, as I overdid it by not just a small amount.  My self kindness for today is in making sure I took ibuprofen to help in handling how pissed off my body is for pushing it so hard.

Repercussions of Discouragement

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Katarungan (Justice) from the Terra Forma Tarot and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Justice card combined with the affirmation “Just because the path is obscured or difficult does not mean you should give up on the destination.”

Cause and effect are a part of how the universe seeks balance, and this is the same even when it comes to our own actions and motivations.  When we get discouraged, if we let that affect our effort and interest in moving forward on what we find discouraging?  Then we don’t reach those goals. They fade off into the ether as we either trudge along without motivation on the same path but with no spark… or move on to other things.

The message in today’s cards is about that shift that happens when something gets difficult or discouraging.  it’s a reminder that if you really -want- what you’re after or where you’re going, you have to keep trying and keep pushing… even when things get tough.  Don’t let a little extra difficulty set you back or turn you away from what you know in your heart is right for you.  Keep going instead, with enthusiasm and determination.  Show the universe that whatever that thing is? It’s meant to be yours, and the effort you put into going in that direction will be rewarded in the end.

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

#DiscordTarotholicsSep2024 Challenge
Philosophical Question for September 25th : What are the 3 major weaknesses of humanity?

Terra Forma Tarot - Ang Magsing-Irog (The Lovers), Siyam Tungkod (Nine of Wands, Walo Tungkod (Eight of Swords)Ang Magsing-Irog – The Lovers is often about making choices about what’s best for us. It’s about unions and give and take, about connection and promises.  As a weakness of humanity, it is about being selfish, and being motivated by selfishness and self-centered interests.

Siyam Tungkod – The Nine of Wands is about defensive positions, and ensuring that what matters to you is protected, even when things are tough.  Here again when put into a position of a weakness, there is an element of selfishness there.  It speaks of not standing strong for -should- be important to you out of laziness or disinterest.

Walo Tungkod – The Eight of Wands is about speed and determination toward one’s goals and interests. It speaks of moving faster, and often is in reference to instant gratification. As a weakness of humanity, it speaks of impatience and the unwillingness to take things slow and let them come naturally. The entitled belief that everything should be done/accomplished/obtained now.

These cards indicate that the three greatest weaknesses of humanity are selfishness (The Lovers), apathy (Nine of Wands), and impatience (Eight of Wands).

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Aragonite for Truth and Understanding
Yellow Aventurine for Confidence
Kambaba Jasper as an Aid for Inward Focus

DECK USED: TERRA FORMA TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I made myself a healthy second supper instead of just snacking on unhealthy stuff.