Stalking Prey

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Coffee Cup Oracle and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Lion card combined with the affirmation “It’s okay to progress slowly. Every effort counts.”

When I think of a lion, I think of bold action and strong motivations. Power through strength of body and will.   Success through ferocity and determination.

The thing is?  These qualities don’t really mesh well in my mind with the idea of “slow progress”.  The lion, to me, is often thought of more as an immediate gratification type of animal.  I’m not exactly sure why that is.

Because even the lion has to take things slow sometimes.  Stalking prey, for example, takes slow, stealthy movement and patience.  Today’s cards are a reminder of this fact.  They say that you can be both bold and successful, and move with slowness and purpose.  Not everything you do  has to be an end result. Sometimes, to get where you want to be and succeed at something, you have to creep through the weeds, take your time, and work it out a little at a time instead of all at once.

DECK USED:  COFFEE CUP ORACLE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@tarot_juf Een Uitnodiging voor de herfst #SeptemberTarotChallenge
Prompt for September 14th thru 17th

Vintage Stamp Tarot and Mushroom Spirit OracleThis is an important aspect for me for everything I am still working on in the coming period.

Seven of Wands and Red Cage – Make sure you are not hemming yourself in with your stubbornness. Sometimes you have to choose between freedom or values that are no longer working for you. Don’t get stuck in the rut created by those values.

The leaves are letting go and falling; what can I put down?

The Tower atop The World; Fairy Inkcap atop Cordyceps – Be open. Be blunt. Be LOUD about what you need in order to begin again. Put down you recalcitrance and reserve, and roar your needs out to be heard by all.

This is how I can save energy.

Six of Wands Rx atop The Hierophant; Shiitake – Stop trying to do what others expect of you, and instead focus on your own needs and what you need in order to find balance and energize yourself.

Which aspect of myself can I let grow for the coming dark period?

The Fool and Ghost Mushroom – Stir up your enthusiasm and allow your fun loving side to break free and shine. Not everything has to be serious. Especially during this preparation time before the holiday rush steals away all of your time and breath, it’s important to indulge in the activities that will bring your inner child to the forefront and make them smile. Have some fun.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Mookaite Stones for Help with Weighing One’s Options
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE VINTAGE STAMP TAROT AND MUSHROOM SPIRIT ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I spent some time with Gideon this evening, to help soothe us both.

❤️ 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?

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with The Philosopher's Tarot and Lustrous Lenormand

EarthQueen of Wands – Remember this week that you can be inspirational without being productive. Instead of pushing yourself, allow others to be inspired by you and help get things done.

AirAce of Swords atop Page of Pentacles – New ideas right now are spectacular things and definitely worth exploring. Make sure you take it slow, but go ahead and begin examining how you can move forward with the new idea that shines the brightest.

WaterThe Star – Allow the love of others to help lift you up and encourage your efforts to lean into optimism and positivity this week. You need a little help to keep things balanced at the moment.

FireStrength – If you want things to go your way this week you may have to work at it. Possibly not with physical efforts, so much as by making sure that you are strategically manipulating the situation to your advantage.

WaningSnake and Moon – You’re going to have to really work at keeping that negative narrative within you from influencing your emotions throughout the week ahead. The subdrop is going to linger, and it is going to be hissing negativity in your ear. Do what you can to mitigate its influence on your emotions.

WaxingClover and Whip – Focus on happy coincidences and lucky breaks this week in order to help in keeping yourself on track with your goals.

Take Away – Whether it’s the goals you wish to achieve, the vulnerability you are feeling, a healthy balance to your emotions. or making sure you don’t push yourself too hard in your work… leaning into positivity and optimism is what is needed this week to make sure that everything stays balanced and on track.  That can be noticing positive influences around you, actively acknowledging moments of gratitude, or leaning on others to help lift you up when you need it.  Just keep leaning into that counterbalance to your more negative natural tendencies.

DECKS USED: THE PHILOSOPHER’S TAROT AND LUSTROUS LENORMAND

It’s Not Yet “Go Time”

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Suburban Knight Oracle and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Wealth card combined with the affirmation “Not every season is for growing. Maybe right now is your time to be dormant. Step back and rest for a while.”

This is, in fact, my last hurrah for getting a chance to step back and rest a while. With the holiday rush right around the corner, orders are beginning to pick up, and there is a lot that needs to be done in order to prepare in order to carry on through the holiday season.

The cards for today are a reminder that it’s important to rest when you get the opportunity to do so… because there’s times coming in the future where that opportunity may not be available to you because you’ll be too busy rolling “out of the red” to manage it.

DECK USED:  SUBURBAN KNIGHT ORACLE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@tarot_juf Een Uitnodiging voor de herfst #SeptemberTarotChallenge
Prompt for September 14th and 17th

Primordial Dreams Tarot and Suburban Knight OracleThe weather is the weather and always changeable; how can I let the weather influence my mood less?

Knight of Air Rx atop Page of Earth; Birthday Cake – If you want the weather to influence your moods less, you need to be less impulsive and take your time more.

The thing is, though, that you do not need the weather to influence your mood less any more than you need that cake. You actually need the weather to influence your mood more, so that the it can become a motivation and inspiration for you again.

This is how I can deal with melancholy.

Ten of Fire; Yard Sale atop Unmovable Foe – Purge. Sometimes one of the things that draws you into melancholy is a feeling of being overburdened. You can help deal with this particular melancholy onset by going through and donating things that you are no longer interested in or using, rather than holding onto them. That sense of “lightening your load” can sometimes help to budge what feels like the immovable force of an oncoming depression.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Feather for Letting Go of What’s No Longer Needed
Dried Silver Birch Leaf for Realizations and New Beginnings
Green Calcite for Finding Balance Within the Self
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PRIMORDIAL DREAMS TAROT AND SUBURBAN KNIGHT ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I didn’t push myself as hard as I was planning on pushing myself when I first got up this morning.

Survival Guaranteed

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Apothecary Spirits Oracle and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Cacao card combined with the affirmation “You will survive this.”

You have over-indulged in hedonistic pursuits and are currently paying the price with the mother of all subdrops. This is what happens when you don’t allow the first drop to finish before dipping your toe in the pool again and overlapping a second drop over the first.

Remember that this is a part of the journey you willingly accept as a part of the pleasures that came before. Don’t forget that it’s temporary. Things will balance back out again soon. You will, in fact, survive this.

DECK USED:  APOTHECARY SPIRITS ORACLE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@mercurytarot #SensualSeptemberTarot Challenge
Questions for September 11th thru 13th and 16th

Apothecary Spirits OracleWhich role(s) do I feel more naturally drawn to? (Dominant/Submissive/Switch/Brat/etc)

Plantain – The sadist in need of a healing touch.

Lemon – The pessimist in need of an uplift.

Juniper – The truth teller that helps others awaken to reality and assess their values.

What energies would match me well?

Damiana – You enjoy being chased and desired.
(This is often reflected in the stories I write with Gideon during our interactive writing roleplay.)

Marshmallow – You need a sense of security and safety with your partner in order to thrive in your relationship.

Wisteria – Tying into the previous card, you need a place where you can safely be vulnerable and “small”.

Which do I want to explore more?

Gentian Root – Take down activities. You enjoy the intensity and harsh brutality that is a part of these activities when trust is there to make them safe even while also violent.

Side Note: While I do enjoy and want to explore these more with Gideon, I’m also pretty fearful of the intensity of the subdrops that could follow.

How can I achieve this?

Reishi Mushroom – Commit to doing the self care you need instead of trying to push your subdrops away, bury them, or ignore them. You need support and even a bit of coddling during these times… even when your vulnerability triggers defense mechanisms that make you feel the need to pull away, run, and/or hide.

DECK USED: APOTHECARY SPIRITS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I reached out to Gideon today to help in easing the subdrop I’m currently experiencing.

Defense Mechanisms

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Pulp Girls Tarot ace of Cups and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Ace of Cups combined with the affirmation “Today look intimidating, but it hasn’t faced YOU yet.”

Well, I definitely can’t say that I wasn’t fierce as hell today, but the problem lies in the fact that that fierceness was turned in the wrong direction.

Emotions are hard.  New emotions and the vulnerability of that newness? Horribly terrifying.  The problem with all this “hard” and “terrifying”?  It causes the defenses to rise, triggering tried and true defense mechanisms that may not necessarily be healthy.

The message in today’s cards is a reminder to make sure that you are directing those defense mechanisms where they need to go, instead of letting them just snap out at anything and everything, or turn inward on yourself.

DECK USEDS:  THE PULP GIRLS TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@tarot_juf Een Uitnodiging voor de herfst #SeptemberTarotChallenge
Prompt for September 11th and 12th

Charles Dickens Tarot - Ten of Pentacles, Page of Pentacles, King of Wands, Nine of PentaclesThis is how I can protect myself against the rising cold.

Ten of Pentacles and King of Wands – Use the energy and enthusiasm of your passions to drive yourself in the direction of your goals and the stability that you crave in your life.

In the misty mornings, what is hidden from me behind a veil of uncertainty?

Page of Pentacles and Nine of Pentacles – When you are feeling uncertain, it’s difficult for you to see and acknowledge your accomplishments for the successes that they are.

Side Note: I’m really not a fan of this deck. It’s extremely hard to read. The guide that comes with the deck is decent if you’re a fan of Charles Dickens, but in my opinion, the cards themselves are… horrible to read from.

DECK USED: THE CHARLES DICKENS TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I ate on a schedule.

Knowledge and Growth

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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MUSE Cat Tarot and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Page of Swords combined with the affirmation “There are better times ahead.”

Remember that all the little things you research and learn in the present come together into something greater later on.  You didn’t become as well rounded as you are overnight, and that growth continues from one day to the next.

You might feel sometimes like a novice, but never forget that gathering knowledge and experience is never wasted.  It becomes a part of who you are, and in doing so you become more than you ever were before.

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

#DiscordTarotholicsSep2024 Challenge
Philosophical Question for September 11th
: What are the 3 major strengths of humanity?

MUSE Cat Tarot - The Hierophant, The World, Page of PentaclesThe Hierophant – The ability to learn from others and the past. When we allow ourselves to understand and embrace traditions of the past, it opens us up to learning from the past and the lessons others learned along the way. This means that we don’t need to experience everything first hand in order to learn from it.

The World – Adaptability through growth. Just as we can learn from others, we learn from our own experiences. These lessons are carried forward in life, from one journey to the next, allowing for us to adapt and grow with each experience we have.

Page of Pentacles – Aspiration and determination. The ability to learn skills and hone them over time is just as important as intelligence and the ability for intellectual growth.  Humanity has the ability to learn new skills and use those skills to improve their own lives as well as the lives of others. This means that innovation and ability combine in a way that allows humanity’s success.

Side Note: While I feel that these are good answers to the question, I also feel like we are missing emotional elements in the answers that the cards provide here. I have a feeling that there is no way to really boil humanity’s greatest strengths down to just three.

DECK USED: MUSE CAT TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took my time getting things done today.  My back and ribs are really sore, and instead of pushing myself as I normally would, I did some gentle stretching and slowed down.