Home Is Where the Heart Is

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JanJourney26 Embark to Renewal Challenge
The Arrival Prompt for January 18th
: Renewal
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Liz Dean's Golden Tarot - Four of WandsToday’s draw is the Four of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of one’s passionate love for the security and welcoming energies of home. This often translates into themes that have to do with homecoming, celebrating home and stability, as well as relaxation in comfortable spaces.

In an echo of a reading done yesterday, this card appears to be indicating that it might be a good idea to stay home and relax today and enjoy your time at home, rather than going out into the world.

It is tempting, with the sun shining, to ignore this advice… as well as the far more blatant advice of the cards pulled yesterday on the topic. That said, home isn’t such a bad idea. There’s lots I can do to enjoy life here at home and ground myself without taking an excursion to fuck around elsewhere.

The message in today’s “Renewal” prompt and Four of Wands card is a reminder that “home is where the heart is”. That means that when you come home, and when you are at home, it should be a place of renewal and restoration. If it’s not, it’s time to look at what is preventing that from happening and consider some solutions that might help.

DECK USED:  LIZ DEAN’S GOLDEN TAROT (trimmed naked)

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 1 | Entry 15 – Self-Care and Personal Development
Affirmation
: “While I value my opinions, they do not define me. I allow myself to grow, evolve, and change.”
Prompt : Think of a topic that prompts strong feelings or reactions in you. What does the card you draw? Say about those feelings/reactions (where they come from, why they are so strong)? Consider what advice it is sharing about how you can constructively communicate your thoughts on that topic without alienating others.

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Interim Tarot Letters ExtensionWhat feelings came up when I pulled this card?

I winced. At first I thought that the upper horizontal line of the F in this card was piercing through the hip of the mermaid, and that the mermaid’s brains were falling out.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

My chosen topic that prompts strong feelings and reactions for me is willful ignorance. (Cuz I got a good dose of it last night from a loved one.)

The meaning of The Fool is often about new beginnings, but it’s also about lack of caution and an abundance of enthusiasm. I feel like the meaning of this card is telling me that there is no way to actually broach the topic of one’s willful ignorance without alienating the person in question.

No matter what approach you take in getting to a place where you can point out that they’re being ignorant, once you get to that place that butts up against their choice to be ignorant, you butt up against the line where alienation lies.

You can strategize, or you can blunder in blindly, but either way there’s going to be unintended consequences involved.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

As mentioned above, my first observation was the (mistaken) observation that the F appeared to be piercing through the mermaid’s hips. She’s still smiling, and she’s still going, but that shit had to hurt. This speaks to me of consequences for one’s actions.

Next to catch my notice were the bared breasts, which brought up the whisper in my head, that “oh, somebody’s gonna be offended”. It’s that whole “you can’t make everyone happy all the time” kind of thing. Nudity is always going to offend somebody, no matter how artistically meant or done.

Then there’s the snake and her reaching, these two arrived in my awareness together and are aligned by their angles. This seemed to speak to me to say that, no matter how good one’s intentions are, there’s always potential for negative outcomes.

My prompt response and reflections.

I’m a little disappointed in the answer that there is no way in which to approach the subject of willful ignorance without it turning into alienation and/or a clusterfuck. That hopeful little shit that lives inside my heart really wants to be able to discuss this with the people in my life that I have noticed blatantly practice this tactic. I really want to help them see a bigger picture.

And yet, in all of the different approaches I have tried and ways I have strategize to try and have a discussion over this issue in the past, it never turns out well. So, perhaps the cards are right, and there really is no way to successfully (without tension and alienation) have this conversation with them.

Other elements included in this reading:
Petrified Wood D6 and D20 Dice

DECK USED: INTERIM TAROT LETTERS EXPANSION

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2026 Challenge
Prompt for January 18th : Do Spread 3
Separate your deck into the four individual suits and major arcana, then shuffle each of those piles separately. Draw a card for each position.

Four Elements Tarot Reading with Liz Dean's Golden Tarot

Major Arcana Card – Something important in your life.

The Tower – Your business. In the Fall of last year, you went through a serious “Tower Moment” with your business. You are still recovering from this experience, and your business is still recovering from the changes and restructuring that was needed to adapt and keep going instead of getting stuck in the mire.

Wands Card – How the essence of the Wands suit influences this important thing in your life.

Seven of Wands – The fight that you are entrenched in with getting your business back on track is not just about what you want in life, but also about what you feel is right. The subjugation that you experienced has lit a fire under you to fight that will continue to burn for as long as you’re willing to keep stoking those flames.

Cups Card – How the essence of the Cups suit influences this important thing in your life.

Knight of Cups – You have within your focus what it is you want, and are motivated to reach for it. This “Tower Moment” caused you to reevaluate not just the needs that your business provides for, but also the wants and desires that support you in being happy in what you do.

Swords Card – How the essence of the Swords suit influences this important thing in your life.

Ten of Swords – You know no firsthand what it feels like (and how much it hurts) to crash and burn where your business is concerned. This experience wasn’t the end of you, and you were able to pick yourself up from the ashes to begin again. It’s proven to you once again that as much as something hurts, that doesn’t mean it has to end you in the process. You just come back stronger.

Pentacles Card – How the essence of the Pentacles suit influences this important thing in your life.

Nine of Pentacles – This experience has encouraged you to seek more satisfaction in the journey rather than just focusing on some goal at the end of the road. You’ve come to realize that the end of the journey is not your goal after all.

Other elements included in this reading:
Goat Charm as Sympathetic Representation of Amalthea
Foraged Purple Heather Sprigs for Independence and Luck
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations

Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: LIZ DEAN’S GOLDEN TAROT (trimmed naked)

Daily Self Kindness

I stopped by the butcher on the way home to pick up the farmer’s sausage that I’ve been craving.

Gideon’s Challenge – Emotional Swell

Soggy ForestEmotional Swell

Fissures form
not from pressure
on the outside
but from within
as the stress
of too much
begins to cause
hidden bits
to swell
and spill over
and pieces
are lost
in the process

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

❤️ 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 Gentle Universe Tarot and Mumu Neko Oracle

EarthNine of Wands – take care that you don’t go on the defensive this week. Stay soft instead of trying to brace and retaliate.

AirThree of Swords – Make sure that you are being open and honest in expressing your disappointments and vulnerabilities this week. Nothing can be fixed or changed if you don’t open up and let people know what’s going on with you.

WaterThe Star – Positivity and optimism exercises are an important part of your well-being and emotional self-care. Make sure you aren’t neglecting (or avoiding) these practices over the week ahead. After all, you can’t catch what you’re not reaching for.

FireThe Magician – You are far more capable than you give yourself credit for. Don’t allow others to dampen your shine or get in your way.

WaningThink and Salty – Those negative inner narratives going on in your head are not going to help you in having a more positive outlook in life. Stop listening to them. Turn away instead of lending them your ear.

WaxingHand and Pretty – You won’t be sorry if you decide to pull in some more shifts at the salon this week. Not only is it close to home (which ties into a few readings in the last couple of days that are telling you to stick close to home), but there’s also the bonus of potential tips.

Take Away – Self care this week needs to focus on making sure that you are staying on top of the positivity and optimism practices that help you to stay at a distance from your pessimism, and expressing to others what you are feeling instead of trying to write it off as “nothing” or hide it away. Don’t allow others to put you on the defensive.  Instead, stay soft and show that there is strength even amid moments of vulnerability.

Accept any extra shifts that may be offered at the salon this week.

Other elements included in this reading:
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others

DECKS USED: GENTLE UNIVERSE TAROT AND MUMU NEKO ORACLE

The Burden of Success

Today’s meditation was a ten minute self guided session wherein I visualized my lower body tangled in the roots of a tree as my upper body floated beneath the surface of a lake. The meditation followed the changes of the season from late fall through winter to early spring from that under water perspective.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JanJourney26 Embark to Renewal Challenge
The Arrival Prompt for January 17th
: Discovery
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Pino Zac Tarot de l'an 2000 - Ten of DiamondsToday’s draw is the Ten of Pentacles (Diamonds), which is traditionally a representation of satisfaction and stability in the area of one’s finances, resources, home, health, manifestations, and the physical world. This often translates into themes that have to do with hard earned success, accomplishments, abundance created through patience and hard work.

You know that saying that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? This is true of our ambitions and goals as well.

Take my obsession with stability and security, for example. I grasp, claw, and crawl my way to as much stability as I can possibly manage. But, when you get too much of a good thing? It’s still too much of a good thing. Stability becomes a burden when we get too much of it, and so do so many other things that we want so very badly.

The problem is? We don’t discover what a burden these things are until we’ve managed to obtain them.

The message in today’s “Discovery” prompt and the Ten of Diamonds is a reminder to always consider the pitfalls of the successes that you seek. There is good and bad in every failure and every success. It’s important to look closely at these successes we are aiming for, and make sure that the bad doesn’t outweigh the good at the end of the day.

DECK USED:  PINO ZAC TAROT DE L’AN 2000

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 3 | Entry 7 – Family and Friends
Affirmation
: “No matter what family I was worn into, I can create my own.”
Prompt : Think about what the “perfect” family means to you. Create your own definition, without self editing or judgment. Using the tarot card you draw, from the artwork or symbolism to the numerology, imagine what having a perfect family would look and feel like to you.

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Adventure Arcana Tarot - The FoolWhat feelings came up when I pulled this card?

Yearning. I don’t get a lot of time in life to be carefree and irresponsible, and that includes when I was a kid. As a result, sometimes when I see The Fool card, especially if the character in the card is looking like they’re having a good time, I feel a subtle sense of longing.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

The theme of The Fool card is often about carefree moments and lack of responsibility, as well as new beginnings. This is something I’ve longed for, even as a child. Unfortunately, I learned early that carefree moments have a steep price that I’m often to not willing to pay.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

This little vampire girl is having a grand old time playing as the sun comes up, her version of Jiminy Cricket asleep on a rock instead of paying attention. She’s about to step into the sunlight, and yet doesn’t seem to have a care in the world.

My prompt response and reflections.

I feel like the perfect family would allow me to enjoy life more and be a bit less responsible all the time. Supportive enough in the ways that matter to allow me to stumble and fall more often without worrying so much about the repercussions that doing so might create.

I also feel that there is no such thing as perfection without a touch of imperfection. Perhaps that imperfection could be some idiot that messes up now and then instead of the selfish, self-serving, and often malicious intent that’s experienced in my own family from time to time.

Other elements included in this reading:
Lace Agate D6 and D20 Gemstone Dice

DECK USED: ADVENTURE ARCANA TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2026 Challenge
Prompt for January 17th
: What do you need to focus on for self-care for this month’s new moon?

Tarot Reading with the Pino Zac Tarot de l'an 2000Reading Summary: Less consumerism and more time at home (cars eating cars eating drivers in The Lovers card) will keep you out of harms way (Nine of Hearts/Worried Angels) in more ways than one (lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Six of Hearts, and visiting the mechanic that doesn’t know what he’s doing in The Chariot card).

Take Away: Cut back on your spending, and make sure that you are not falling victim to “spring fever”. Just because the sun is shining for a couple of days doesn’t mean it’s time to get out there and do stuff.

You can’t afford the extra trouble and extra expense that will come from spending additional time out and about this week.

There is a high chance of car trouble that will be beyond your means to fix if you ignore the advice given to you in these cards. Do what you have to do, and no more than that. You don’t want to meet the witch doctor mechanic.

Other elements included in this reading:
Deodar Cedar Ceramic Impression for Clarity and Spiritual Connection
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  PINO ZAC TAROT DE L’AN 2000

Daily Self Kindness

I didn’t get as much done today at Ms B’s as I had initially planned to do, and left about a half hour early. I have chosen to not feel guilty about either of these things.

Gideon’s Challenge – More, Please

Rain Clouds AboveMore, Please

Eagerness
for more rain
even now
floods my soul
even as fields
flood
and rivers
swell
and roads are
overrun
with water
so that detours
are necessary

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

🌑 New Moon in Capricorn – January 2026

Tomorrow is the new moon, and like all new moons and full moons, I did a spread aligned to the moon’s current themes as a part of my recognition of the moon’s cycle and influences upon us. Today’s spread is courtesy of @onyerbroom

New Moon in Capricorn Tarot Reading with the Merry Tarot

Structure needed?

The Magician – Take some time to get together what it is you want to happen moving forward. Goals and aspirations need to be defined first in order to succeed. You’re more than capable of taking on whatever goals you want to achieve, but the first step will always be figuring out what it is that you want.

Focused support?

Six of Cups atop Eight of Cups Rx – If you don’t have help, leave it be and go get help. Don’t be stubborn and say “fine, I’ll just do it by myself” like you have in the past. Instead, delay gratification to go enlist the help you need.

Progress towards?

Four of Pentacles atop King of Cups Rx – You can’t find emotional stability while holding yourself apart from others. A little bit of solitude is good for you from time to time, but you have a tendency to take it too far. Make sure that you are leaning into those that help you create a better emotional balance and sense of well-being, instead of shutting them out.

New Moon advice from the Minoan Goddess Amalthea.

The Fool – Try to have a little fun along the way. It may not be your go-to consideration, but it’s an important part of keeping life interesting.

Other elements included in this reading:
Goat Figurine as Sympathetic Representation of Amalthea
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Baby’s Breath Bundle for Connecting to Purity of Heart
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Cedar Heart for Protection and Understanding

Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: MERRY TAROT