On Instagram, I had a follower ask if I could break down how I came to the messages I did in this reading I did on November 16th.

squirrelystitches says:
If you ever have time and energy, I’d love to hear how you include the art in the interpretation for this deck 🙂 for example, I see nothing of Six of Cups in that card, but I’d be curious to see what you see.

What have I been taking for granted?

Six of Cups – The past is a powerful thing. Even the unpleasant memories helped in building you into the person you are today. Remember that the past is the building blocks of the present, as well as who you are and who you will become. Seek out the value that these memories and past experiences hold.

The Six of Cups asked me to think back… nostalgia is a key component of the traditional meaning for the Six of Cups, yeah? (granted, with the illustration alone, I probably still would have gone there)

I had my very first kiss in a canoe. I can’t really say it was good -or- bad, but I can say that I was a little too young… and that I swam back to shore.

When I saw the figure in the boat and the messy golden jumble of cups and liquid above them, it brought back a memory of those feelings in that moment, and how the incident shaped how I did things differently (where both sex and trust was concerned) moving forward.

What’s been holding me back from seeing my blessings clearly?

Justice – Your need for things to be fair and just causes you to find flaws in both the boons and banes of life. Your perceptions are polluted by this need for fairness and balance, causing you to dirty the good with guilt or shame, and place greater value on misfortune than necessary.

The illustration in the Justice card speaks to me of how forest fires burn, and the life that sprouts up from them after. Forest fires are both deadly and beneficial to a forest. It’s a give and take type situation. The smoke pollutes the air, the fire scorches the earth and everything in its way… and from that comes new life in the form of pyrogenic flowering (which the flowers in the field made me think of as they look like fireweed).

This cycle feels like how fairness doesn’t always -feel- fair, and balance doesn’t always -feel- like balance.

How can I better express my gratitude in the future?

Temperance – Remember; it’s not about quantity, but about quality.

This Temperance card is overrun with paths. Have you ever been to one of those subdivisions where there’s road after road after road of identical houses? All the houses look the same, all the yards look the same, all the roads look the same. There’s no individuality.

If you eat the same thing every day, it doesn’t matter how much you like it or how good it is for you, you’re going to end up hating it in the end and it’s probably -not- going to be good for you anymore.

What do I need to acknowledge gratitude for in my relationships?

Three of Wands – We travel together instead of solo. The direction set out before us is one that includes not just yourself, but those closest to you as well. Motivate not just yourself into moving forward, but others to come along with you, for they belong at your side.  When you “do it alone” you hem yourself in with extra unnecessary obstacles.

In this Three of Wands card, we have two ships heading out to open sea, and one corralled in a closed pond. This speaks to me a message about how you can go far with others at your side, and are often caged and limited when you try to do things alone.

What do I need to acknowledge gratitude for in my finances?

The Empress – Your relationship  with your partner works no matter what financial issues are involved. You can speak to each other about these issues without any expectations placed on each other to offer assistance, and without there being an offer made that might change the nurturing dynamics of the relationship.

This Empress card carries back to the card before it in the reading (Three of Wands) and the message it had for me. This is because if you look at the cards side by side? They run into each other and connect seamlessly together.

In this card the tree and the birds connect to Lenormand for me. Not because they’re birds but because they feel like fish? I’m not sure why I have this connection, but although I can clearly see they are birds, in my head they are jumping fish… speaking of financial matters.

Between the Fish and the Tree, we have a message of support that is not necessarily financial in nature… which connects to the message at the Three of Wands. This speaks of the connection between myself and Gideon and how there is tons of support in all kinds of ways… but nothing monetary involved.

What do I need to acknowledge gratitude for in my work life?

The High Priestess – Growth may be small and slow, but led by your intuition, it is happening. Life still resides within your business, regardless of the fact that it took a beating recently. You may feel adrift, but with the guidance of your intuition at the fore, the business will continue to thrive.

Little boats filled with mushrooms float in the sea. It’s not like they can steer their little boats, nor paddle their way to shore. This means that their growth is very limited. It’s at the whims of the water beneath the boat, yeah? This speaks to me of intuition, because it’s an “emotion” feeling type element that you have no control over.

This speaks of trust. Trust you will reach shore, carried by currents rather than paddling. Riding said currents with trust, is something I greatly associate with intuition (which is an element of the High Priestess card as well). Thus… ride the currents. Stay afloat. Stay alive. You’ll reach the shore eventually.

I hope that helped! Lemme know if you have any questions.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE ORACLE OF MANY PATHS