Setting Ego Aside

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

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J.K Tarot's Three of Pentacles - Jupiter King TarotThe @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 6 : Newness
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Three of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of teamwork, collaboration, working together, and themes to do with bringing in help and/or outside expertise in order to get something done.

It’s time to start looking at asking for help in a new light. Just maybe asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather an effort at inclusion and a sign of leadership. After all, asking others to step in and participate creates opportunities for bonding and a more communal atmosphere.  Letting someone brace your ladder shows trust, taking their input and ideas with a welcoming attitude shows respect, and delegating tasks to share the load shows a lack of ego-driven behavior.

None of these things are weaknesses.

The message in today’s cards tells us to put away our egocentric feelings on asking for help, and instead try to view it as a community building activity that encourages trust, respect, and interpersonal bonding… all facilitated by you.

DECK USED:  J. K. TAROT

@LightningWildflower‘s June Tarot Challenge
Healing Prompts for June 4th thru 6th

Oracle Reading with the Eco Heart OracleWhat healing has already taken place in my life?

Maple – You are safe and protected, which allows you to make the changes in your life you need to make to stay true to you. This can mean taking a flying leap now and then like the unlikely “flying trees” of maple seedlings spiraling their way to the ground, digging your roots deep for greater stability like the tree itself uses to ride out stormy weather, or shedding what needs released so that it doesn’t tap out your resources like maple leaves being shed in the fall.

What do I still need to move through or past?

Frog – Remember that this is not the end and there is still growth to be had, especially in the watery bog of your emotions. In this area, you are just starting out on a journey that most people begin in childhood. It’s okay to explore, and it’s okay to be confused. Be patient with yourself and your development, and celebrate the small steps you make from day to day.

How can I continue to heal and recover?

Winter Rose – Patience is important. Instead of struggling under the down times when things aren’t busy, use these times to soak up the rest you need and top off your energy stores for when you are too busy to be able to give yourself these needed moments of luxury. Rest and recover, get out in nature, and take these times to look at the dreams you’ve held onto with an open and curious mind.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Yellow Aventurine for Boosting Confidence
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ECO HEART ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I was inspired to dive head first down a rabbit hole into the meaning of the word “ableist” to learn just exactly what it means and how it displays in people’s behaviors.

Gideon’s Challenge – The Dapper Gnome

Garden GnomeThe Dapper Gnome

“I was made for lovin’ you, baby
You were made for lovin’ me.
And I can’t get enough of you, baby.
Can you get enough of me?”

I sit and watch
a napping gnome
and wonder
what music
was in the air
as the woman
that painted him
sat at her table
with her paints
and brushes
and brought him
to life.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Finding the Positive for June 3 – 5

Magic Pantry Tarot's Five of Cups and Judgment Card, Student Tarot v2's Wheel of Fortune and Chariot cards, and Greenwood Tarot's Judgement Card

June 3 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Shine
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

I have now managed to pull the Five of cups three days in a row, this time combined with the Judgment card.

  • The Five of Cups is traditionally a representation of pessimism, regrets, doomsday thinking, disappointments, and occasionally, failure (or at the very least, the perception of failure).
  • The Judgment card is traditionally a representation of judgements, one’s inner calling and chosen life path, and looking back on one’s life to consider how they feel about the path they’ve taken and who they have become.

SO, because it’s clear that this card has a message for me that I’m missing, I went to the deck’s guidebook this time for a little guidance. The key points taken away from the guidebook’s input are…

  • Whatever it is that is creating this feeling of defeat for you is now in the past and can’t be undone.
  • Think creatively about how you respond and react so that not all is lost.
  • Don’t beat yourself up for struggling with this.
  • There is no prescribed answers sometimes, and in those moments you just have to wing it to gain better understanding through experience.
  • Expect the unexpected, even if you think you know what’s about to happen.

The message that I see here is to ride it out.  Ride out these feelings of struggle and disappointment, discontent and unhappiness. Look for the positive spin and let things move at their own pace while taking little sips of joy where you can.

Just make sure that you are staying alert to opportunities to turn things around moving forward. You can’t change the past and the decisions  you made. They say that hindsight is 20/20, and that’s true. Instead of looking back, look forward and seek out opportunities to change things for the better.

DECK USED: MAGIC PANTRY TAROT

June 4 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Bright
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Wheel of Fortune atop the Chariot card. This means that they came out of the deck together, and the Wheel of Fortune card was on top, and this the dominant card of the pair.

  • The Wheel of Fortune card is traditionally a representation of luck (both good and bad), changing circumstances, the ups and downs of life, and the cyclical nature of life and the world.
  • The Chariot card is traditionally traditionally a representation of control, determination, direction, and autonomy.

Some days, things are going to go how they’re going to go, and you can’t always have a lot of control over that. What you do have control over is your own reactions.

Make sure you are using that creative mind of yours to look on the bright side. Not being in control has a tendency to make you cranky and unreasonable. Be aware that today, it’s only you and your own reactions you are going to have control over.  Ride the wheel and enjoy the ride, no matter what it brings your way.

These cards are a reminder that some days all we can do in our lives or control is our own reactions an dhow we perceive a situation. Everything else is out of our hands, and any efforts to seize control will be overkill.

DECK USED: THE STUDENT TAROT v2

June 5 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was fifteen minutes long, and self-directed. It was based off of the graphic included in the image with today’s card.  It was about something called “Window Light Theory”, and the concept that light itself is healing. It doesn’t require you going out into the sun to feel those healing effects, either.  How this small touch of natural light can do so much, if we take a moment to savor it… and so can other little things like appreciating a moment of quiet beauty in the world.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Outside
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Judgement Card, which is traditionally a representation of judgements, one’s inner calling and chosen life path, and looking back on one’s life to consider how they feel about the path they’ve taken and who they have become.

Last night, I saw a video of a polar bear just wandering through an Alaskan town, and it struck me that I never really grasped just how large these animals are.  It meandered its way past a standard sized sedan, and… the car was smaller than the bear. In fact, the car was dwarfed by the bear’s size. And yet?  It still looked like a warm and fuzzy white teddy bear in need of a good petting.

It’s funny, because I see these memes all the time that say, “If not friend, why friend shaped?” and here it is!

The message in today’s cards is a reminder to not judge a book by its cover. That bear may be cute, but he could also kill you with a hug.  What we see on the outside is not enough. It’s not enough for our safety, and it’s not enough to make decisions and actions concerning. Beautiful flowers can be poisonous. Cuddly looking bears can be hungry killers. People are even more complicated than plants and animals, and their covers just as difficult to interpret.

Make sure that you aren’t judging them by “their covers” alone. Actions are important, and so is digging deeper.

DECK USED: THE GREENWOOD TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

Creeping ButterclupThe Green Sea

Vibrant sparks
of color
in a sea of green
catch the eye
and draw you in
to go swimming
in that sea
and as belly to grass
you come
for a closer look
the wondrous details
of nature’s gifts
are beautiful
to observe

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

Deception PassTidal Currents

Sometimes
the surface speaks
of what’s
underneath
and sometimes
it is merely
a small display
of what’s
hidden from sight
and the problem is
we never know
which is which
until we dive in
to be swept up
or pulled under

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

🎨 Weekly Creativity Prompt – Differing Perspectives

Prompt: “Pull the Page of Pentacles card from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the card provided below and the card(s) from your own deck(s). How would you read them differently and why?

Mystic Goddess Sigils Tarot - Page of PentaclesMystic Goddess Sigils Tarot – In the center of this card we see a maze, and what appears to me to be the roots of a plant just starting out. This card speaks of the need to develop roots first before growth can begin. It shows the roots at their start, and encourages them to grow to create a stable foundation before continuing on to navigating the maze that is its obstacle to freedom. This card asks us what preparations do we need to put in place in order to create a stable foundation for where we want to end up? The foundation will always be the first step. It warns that sometimes beginnings take time, and thus patience is needed in order for opportunities to grow into fruition.

Page of Pentacles in the Star Trek Tarot, Serenity Tarot, and Cosmic Seeker Tarot

Star Trek Tarot – This card speaks of a continuous curiosity for new knowledge and an urge to advance one’s skills and abilities. It says that no matter one’s age, that curiosity is what creates spice in life, and growth of one’s skills and abilities keeps one fresh and agile, creating strength that can be built on. It encourages not being discouraged when growth takes time. Opportunities for growth are always present, even at times when we don’t always recognize them. The message here is a reminder to be open to those opportunities and eager to explore them, even when you’re feeling jaded or tired.

Serenity Tarot – The figure in this card reflects the traditional imagery in the Rider Waite tradition of tarot. The coil is cherished and admired, valued and the entire focus of the figure in the center of the card. At her feet, growth flourishes. This card speaks of valuing the themes of the pentacles suit.  Home, health, skills, financial stability.  This card says that when you value these traits and themes, growth will come.  Slow and steady, perhaps, but it will come.

Cosmic Seeker Tarot – I struggle with the princess (page) in this card, as there is stagnancy here rather than growth or slow movement. It is as if she holds the coin in her lap, but her mind is elsewhere.  She’s not even touching it.  To me, the imagery in this card speaks of neglecting these important themes that the coin represents.  Are you ignoring your health and changes that need to be made? Are you choosing to not deal with financial obligations? Are you avoiding doing the things that will create a stable foundation for your goals?  This card asks these questions and encourages looking closely within oneself for the answers.

DECK USED: MYSTIC GODDESS SIGILS TAROT, STAR TREK TAROT, SERENITY TAROT, COSMIC SEEKER TAROT