Month: July 2025

Strength In Vulnerability

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

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The Nigel Jackson Tarot's World Card and Inner Joy OracleDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The World card, which is traditionally a representation of the end of a journey, the completion of a time of growth, accomplishment, and transitioning from one path in life to another.

When we learn to accept and appreciate our vulnerabilities, a new journey begins.

When I became my partner’s submissive seventeen(?) years ago, I spent a few years feeling awkward and embarrassed. Not with what we have or did with each other, but with how others might perceive me. I worried that in other people’s eyes, being submissive in our relationship made them see me as weak.

It took me time to accept that this is a part of myself, and even longer to see, understand, and truly accept that my submission is not a weakness. It takes courage to let someone else take the reigns, and strength to find that balance in a relationship that fits for both of you. It also takes strength to allow our vulnerabilities to show, which is also a part of submission (not to mention the subdrop, which I’m personally prone to).

Once I got to a point where I could see that strength in my submission and all it entailed? It no longer mattered anymore what others thought. I had moved into accepting myself and my vulnerabilities more easily.

Today’s cards ask us to look at these things about ourselves that we see as weaknesses or vulnerabilities, and seek out how they make us better and stronger. The message here encourages us to recognize that by accepting these vulnerabilities and seeing them as strengths to value, instead of weaknesses to be ashamed of, we become more authentically us.

DECK USED:  THE NIGEL JACKSON TAROT

@LightningWildflower‘s July Tarot Challenge
Reveal Prompts for July 25 – 27

The Spiritual Meaning of Birds Oracle ReadingWhat truths are coming to light in my life?

Chickadee/Sweet Brier – It’s is through the shedding of old ideas and patterns for new ones that we continue to grow and change. You lead naturally in areas where you hold knowledge and expertise. Remember that keeping that expertise up-to-date and relative means not getting so bogged down by old ideas and traditions that new ones can’t be added.

What hidden gifts have I uncovered?

Cuckoo/Feverpod atop Magpie – You have a one track mind when it comes to your hoarding tendencies, and aren’t above lying to yourself to convince yourself to continue on with addictive behaviors (which hoarding is included in) well past when it would be healthier to back off.

Fortunately, you are aware of this and work to stay attentive to these issues. As you have begun to explore mediumship, your ancestors have also stepped forward to help in establishing and maintaining balance this area.

What am I afraid (or resistant to) reveal to others?

Wren/Winged Elm – You are resistant to let other’s see your more extreme swings in mood and behavior. You don’t like the highs and lows, and worry that showing these extremes may cause you to appear less dependable. You’ve worked so hard to create a stable foundation for yourself, and worry that these extremes could create cracks in that foundation not just for yourself, but also for others who depend on your stable nature.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Rainforest Rhyolite for Facilitating Calm Transitions
Flower Agate Moon for Opening the Mind to New Possibilities
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF BIRDS

Daily Self Kindness

I went to the dentist to have my cleaning done, even though I was extremely tempted to cancel my appointment.

Gideon’s Challenge – Summer Silence

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Wild Hop VineSummer Silence

Cling tighter,
my love
and hold me
tight
in the moments
when the wind
whispers
and summer heat
spills over
my skin to
make me shiver
because
I need you
closer still

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Whose Dreams are These?

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Carnival of Time Tarot's Knight of Cups and Chakra MandalasDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Cups (Bottles), which is traditionally a representation of an active beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, intuition, and creativity. This often portrays itself in a theme of going after what brings someone joy or following your imagination and creativity into new adventures.

Whose dreams are you chasing?

As we grow up, those that raise us and influence our development, instilling within us values and dreams, mores and ideals. We adopt these as our own until as adults we are given the autonomy to choose our own beliefs, values, and direction in life.

How much of what came before remains, though? Are we striving in life to fulfill our own dreams; or are we focusing on the dreams others have told us we should be focused on? Have we broken free of the mold to discover and explore our true and authentic selves? Or are we still trying to fit ourselves into that mold created by others?

The message in today’s cards is an encouragement to look within, and work on getting to know the true and authentic you. Then, when you begin to tap into that authenticity, examine if the goals you’ve set out for yourself really align with who you are… or are you carrying dreams from someone else who didn’t allow themselves to freedom to follow those dreams when they had the chance and now have placed them upon you to fulfill?

It’s your life. So shouldn’t you be fulfilling your own dreams?

DECK USED:  CARNIVAL OF TIME TAROT AND CHAKRA MANDALAS DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2025 Challenge
Prompt for July 27 : Do Spread 4

Oracle Reading with the Weird Beehaviour Trading Cards

Flowers – What is flourishing in my life right now

FreeBee  – You’re getting lots of in-person time with those in your inner circle. Sometimes this feels like a good thing, other times it feels like it sucks, and still there are other times when you wish you could just walk away and tell everybody to fuck off. Remember that together time needs to be valued, though, because it won’t last.

Sun – Where you’re shining your brightest this summer

SnobBEE – Where you are really shiny brightest this summer is in your discernment; especially in learning how to enact that discernment around others. Some might call it just being a dick, and others will call it having good boundaries. You know it’s the latter, so don’t let the naysayers hold influence over you.

Stars – What needs released to shine even brighter

Danny DeBEEto – Discrimination and restraint are not a bad words. Okay,  they can be in certain contexts, but we all need to be discriminate in what, for example, comes out of our mouths. Let go of the idea that every little thing that enters your head needs shared with others. Sometimes just shutting up and stepping away is a better option. Let your ability to do this flourish.

Bees – Where you focus your energy to get things done

ChubBEE  – Excess is not your enemy if you pick and choose where those tendencies are directed. Like most things in life, it can be either healthier or unhealthy, depending on how you apply it to your life. When drawn into moments of excess (as you almost inevitably are), make sure that you are channeling that energy into positive and healthy directions.

Bonfires – Embers to stir up for a brighter future

BEEthoven – Your creative spark is looking for an outlet. Pick something that moves you and give it a go, even those things that are long-standing in your life will do, as long as they help in fanning the flames of your creativity.

Other elements included in this reading:
Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WEIRD BEEHAVIOUR TRADING CARDS

Daily Self Kindness

When the news came on the TV today, I stole the remote from J and turned it off.

❤️ 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 Deleted World Tarot and The Egyptian Star Oracle

Earth – Page of Pentacles – Adaptation is your friend. Remember that the ability to change and evolve creates stability even as it feels unstable. It’s okay to go slow to ensure good footing with each step. Just don’t stop.

Air – The Magician Rx – Take care in how much you actually listen to your inner narratives this week. Self destructive tendencies are on the rise, and those whispers are not the helpful advice that they appear to be.

Water – Two of Swords – Action and movement will help in keeping your mental health in-check and your emotions in a healthy place. Don’t pause in stagnancy this week, but instead use movement and activity to help invigorate you and keep things fresh.

Fire – Eight of Swords Rx – Make sure that you’re not giving up too easily. Confronting challenges instead of surrendering to them will get you further this week then just letting things go or writing them off.

Waning – Nephthys – Duck-and-cover time has come to an end. Even if you move slowly, it’s time to drag yourself out of the nest. Remember that stagnancy is not your friend, no matter how good it feels to wallow there sometimes.

Waxing – Semed – Instead of staying home when you take a break, choose to go out and do something fun. Spend time in nature and celebrate life, rather than wallowing in cool safety with the walls of your home closed tight around you.

Take Away – There’s a good deal of warning here about stagnancy, and how important it is to keep moving even when you don’t feel like it or are being tempted by self-destructive whispers to burrow in and hide.  Get outside and take in some fresh air. Have fun. Breathe deep.

DECKS USED: THE DELETED WORLD TAROT AND THE EGYPTIAN STAR ORACLE

Gideon’s Challenge – Adoration

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Pink CarnationsAdoration

Each day
my mind wanders
to you
again
and again
and within
these thoughts
my heart is warmed
and my spirit
lifted
because love
tinges
every moment
between us

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Emotional Intelligence

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The Whisper of Stars and Garden Tarot's King of Cups and Inner Joy OracleDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the King of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, emotional intelligence, creativity, or intuition. This often translates into authority figures that are emotionally supportive and understanding, possessing both compassion and strong leadership qualities.

In my life, no one celebrates me more than my personal King of Cups. Gideon is my cheerleader and my biggest fan. He often knows me better than I know myself, and doesn’t just provide emotional support in the traditional sense, but also assists in my emotional growth by helping in sorting out my confusing emotions and learning how to interpret and/or deal with them in healthy ways.

These are things that, left to my own devices, I struggle with. I spent so much of my childhood and a good portion of my adult life disconnecting from and burying my emotions, that in the present I often struggle with identifying what I’m feeling.

Thanks to him, I’m now learning about my emotions. I can’t say it’s an easy road. It’s confusing and often frustrating. But, what I’m discovering along the way is that emotions have a place in my life after all, and the potential to make life a richer and more enjoyable experience… if I let myself experience them.

The message for today is about the value of your emotions, as well as those that have taught you by both guidance or example how to identify and process them.

This type of support is often overlooked. It’s usually experienced in childhood, integrated, then the source of support (or perhaps the support itself, to be more specific) is forgotten about. Today’s cards ask; who provided the foundation for how you view, process, and respond to emotions? How does their influence still carry forward for you into the present?

DECK USED:  THE WHISPER OF STARS AND GARDEN TAROT AND INNER JOY ORACLE

@LightningWildflower‘s July Tarot Challenge
Trust Prompts for July 22 – 24

The Witch of the Forest Earth Oracle and The Herbal Healing Oracle ReadingWhat does trust look like for me?

Patchouli and Spilanthes – Dependability, especially on an emotional level. You aren’t fond of surprises, and unpredictably causes you to feel the need to put up your defenses, even with those in your inner circle. This is why you choose not to be around people when they are drinking; you view their inebriation at unpredictable and it makes it hard for you to trust them even in the smallest ways during these times.

In what way do I need to trust myself more?

Mint and St John’s Wort – You don’t need to supervise with exacting detail every step taken along your path. Trust yourself to be surefooted even when you’re not looking, even during times when you are outside your comfort zone. Your moral compass and sense of what’s right for you will help keep you headed where you need to go, even when you’re not investing everything you have into staying on track.

Where is uncertainty holding me back?

Lavender and Violet – Your explorations into mediumship could be going much faster. You are currently moving at a pace so slow that it’s bordering on discomfort. That tight grip on “the reigns” feels like it makes things safer, but it’s actually a choke-hold on your progress. Ease up on the reigns a bit and let things develop and connect more naturally. In return you’ll find more comfort, peace, and familiarity in this practice.

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Spruce Tips to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Serpentine Dragon to Bolster Heart and Emotions
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Citrine for Energy Lift (easing the weight of heavy energies)
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE WITCH OF THE FOREST’S EARTH ORACLE DECK AND THE HERBAL HEALING DECK

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nap this afternoon before driving home this evening.