No Better Time Than the Present

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @hippiepixie333 #Escapril2026 Challenge

Prompt for April 22nd
: waiting room 

Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

BlueDogRose Tarot - Nine of Cups

Today’s draw is the Nine of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of themes that have to do with contentment, accomplishment, and satisfaction in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition.

What are you waiting for?

A lot of times in life, we look at the things that we want and those things that would make us happy, and we put off going after them, telling ourselves that it’s not the right time or that we’re waiting for a better time than the present is offering.

The thing is though, that “better time” is a cage that holds you back. It steals your freedom and it steals your happiness, leaving you just waiting forever for a “perfect time” that never comes.

The message in today’s Nine of Cups and the “waiting room” prompt is a reminder that when it comes to pursuing your happiness and savoring the things that you enjoy, there is no better time than the present. Don’t wait. Otherwise, the opportunity may pass you by and never return.

DECK USED:  BLUEDOGROSE TAROT

@Lionharts #TheAprilTarot Root & Rise Challenge

The Rise Prompts for April 22nd and 23rd

Oracle Reading and Cartomancy Reading with The Chicken Oracle and Street Art Playing Cards : Rise & Shine Edition

What step can take today that moves something forward?

Four of Clubs, Henrietta, Five of Spades

If you focus more on trusting things will fall into place without you having to fight your way into their development, those things will grow in their own time.

You’ll still get where you want to go, but at a much more comfortable and healthier pace with far less angst and disruption.

Stop pushing. Most things are going to get there in their own time with just a small bit of direction now and then on your part. There’s no need for such a tightly clenched fist upon every moment.

What deserves my full attention right now?

Five of Clubs, Margot, Three of Diamonds

Don’t worry so much about what others are thinking or feeling. Your life is to be lived your way. Others are always welcome to offer advice and input, but don’t let them manipulate you into stepping away from what is right for you.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: THE CHICKEN ORACLE AND STREET ART PLAYING CARDS RISE & SHINE EDITION

@lightningwildflower‘s April Energetic Shifts Challenge

Practice Prompt for April 22nd : How can I practice more patience?

Tarot Reading with the BlueDogRose Tarot

Reading Summary: Let yourself sit with it first (Ace of Birds). You don’t always have to share every little thing with others (Chained Dog Rx and Three of Birds Rx).

Take Away: Sometimes it’s better to let new emotions “percolate” a bit before sharing them with others.

This allows you to feel these new emotions out on your own and start to make your own conclusions before you seek out help with the interpretation. As a result, you explore more instead of depending on others to “do your homework for you”.

If you run everything out to others first, you never gain the experience and practice at exploring these emotions on your own provides. This is a useful skill you don’t want to miss out on developing.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  BLUEDOGROSE TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Gideon’s Challenge – Breathless

Evergreen Landscape

Breathless

Hard rocks
scrape
beneath
boot treads
as the climb
takes us
further
from the sea
and closer
to the
peaked tips
of green giants
standing sentinal
in the sun

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Transitional Chaos

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @hippiepixie333 #Escapril2026 Challenge
Prompt for April 21st
: turning of seasons
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Bearot Deck - The Tower

Today’s draw is The Tower card, which is traditionally a representation of sudden change, chaotic transformation, destruction, and the tearing down of something within one’s life or beliefs that leaves room for something new to take its place.

Sometimes changes can feel like the end of the world, when really they’re just the natural progression of something moving through its cycle.

Nothing is able to stay stagnant forever. The universe ensures that everything goes through a cycle of beginnings and endings. Sometimes, like the shift from summer to fall, these changes come with a lot of flash and bang. Thunder and lightning fills the sky as the temperatures above change and clouds clash. Yet, if we stayed in summer forever, the world would dry out and become barren like a desert. That change into fall is necessary, even if it comes with the violent flash and bang of transitions.

The message in today’s Tower card and the “turning of seasons” prompt, shines a spotlight upon how our own lives follow a similar pattern as we transition from one “season” of experience into the next. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing just because there’s a violence to the transition. When you weather the storm to get out the other side, you often find something new and wonderful waiting there for you. Don’t give up.

DECK USED:  THE BEAROT DECK

@Lionharts #TheAprilTarot Root & Rise Challenge
The Rise Prompt for April 21st
:Where am I being asked to take the lead in my own life?

Tarot Reading with the Blooming Cat Tarot

Reading Summary: You can achieve more (two mature court cards) both in your efforts toward stability (King of Wands) and your journey to understanding your emotions (Queen of Cups) if you ensure that you don’t overwhelm yourself by putting too much on your plate at once (Ten of Wands Rx).

Take Away: Take the initiative to make sure that you aren’t taking on more than you can handle right now… or for that matter, more than you want to handle. After all, what you can handle and what you want to handle are two very different things.

Remember when you put too much on your plate, it stunts your growth overall and holds you back far more than it ever helps you in moving forward. You feel like you’re making progress simply because you’re constantly busy, but in truth you’re not making any real progress on anything because you time, energy, and efforts are being spread too thin.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Calcite for Gently Calming the Mind and Stimulating Insights
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: BLOOMING CAT TAROT FIRST EDITION

@lightningwildflower‘s April Energetic Shifts Challenge
ReleasePrompt for April 21st : What emotional tension do I need to let go?

Tarot Reading with The Bearot Deck

Reading Summary: You need to remember that your feelings of scarcity (Five of Pentacles) are not a sign of failure to create stability in your life (King of Pentacles Rx). Look at these feelings with a sharp and clear focus (Queen of Swords) and sit with them a bit (The Hanged Man) to suss out their true source.

Take Away: Stop blaming your feelings of scarcity on some imagined failure, or when you feel that you’re not doing things right right or not doing enough. This isn’t the source of your scarcity.

Only if you’re willing to sit with it and examine it, picking it apart to look at it from all sides, will you be able to see these feelings of scarcity clearly, as well as be able to see the source that these feelings are born from.

To let go of these feelings, delve into them deeper and seek out their source instead of allowing them to use your negative inner narratives to feed their growth.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Holly Leaf for assistance in Gentling Negative Emotions
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  THE BEAROT DECK
Daily Self Kindness

I visited a new garden center in town just to check out the flowers and wander the aisles.

Gideon’s Challenge – Morning Dew

Toothed Plagiomnium Moss (Plagiomnium cuspidatum)

Morning Dew

Tiny worlds
full of life
with dew drops
and green
as damp soil
wood and moss
welcome
a new day
and another
raindrop
to glisten upon
saw toothed bits

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

The Liar’s Tell

Today’s meditation was a ten minute self-guided visualization exercise.

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The @hippiepixie333 #Escapril2026 Challenge

Prompt for April 20th
 : weight of silence

Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Botanical Grace Tarot - Seven of Swords

Today’s draw is the Seven of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of strategic thinking, “sneaky shit”, or getting away with something. It can also often be about taking only what one can carry.

Liars need to fill the silence.

There’s a lot of tricks out there to suss out lies and liars. Most of them are faulty, especially when dealing with a practiced liar that sees lying as a skill to be honed. They learn to control what would normally be natural tells.

A technique that has worked for me, though, and is underutilized in my observation, is the application of silence.

Conversion has a natural ebb and flow to it with comfortable silences interspersed within discussion. Inserting one of these silences after a perceived lie, though, makes the liar feel a need to “fill the space”. In these silent moments, they may uncharacteristically fidget, or show tells that are normally controlled.

The weight of the silence can get to them, and whereas they usually come off easy and smooth, their composure is often rattled by silence placed directly after a lie.

The message in today’s Seven of Swords and “weight of silence” prompt is an encouragement to pay more attention to the comfortable silences in conversation, and look more closely at the uncomfortable ones to examine why they are uncomfortable and what is going on in these moments.

DECK USED: BOTANICAL GRACE TAROT

@Lionharts #TheAprilTarot Root & Rise Challenge

The Rise Prompts for April 19th and 20th

Tarot Reading with The BirdQueen Tarot and Enchanted Garden Playing Cards

What choice is ready to be made without further delay?

Seven of Clubs and Eight of Pentacles – Your skills are honed and the craftsmanship you put into your work is undeniable. Fight for your business. Fight for the skills and artistry that you’ve worked for decades to develop.

Politics and the mess created there can only hold you back if you let it. Instead of lying down your arms, raise them high and develop the new skills needed to continue to succeed in this area.

Where can I express my position more directly?

Five of Diamonds and The High Priestess – Take the time to explore and more deeply understand where your feelings of scarcity stem from. The scarcity you feel is not based in reality, but in the hidden parts of you that you try to hide from instead of acknowledging.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Beech Pod for Realizations that Foster Personal Growth
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE BIRDQUEEN TAROT AND ENCHANTED GARDEN PLAYING CARDS

@lightningwildflower‘s April Energetic Shifts Challenge

Mercury conjunct Saturn, Mercury conjunct Mars Prompt for April 20th : What decision is going to require courage or discipline?

Tarot Reading with the Botanical Grace Tarot

Reading Summary: You may need to redefine (The Hanged Man) what you consider stability to entail (King of Pentacles) if you want to find true happiness that you can appreciate (Nine of Cups).

Take Away: Your definition of security and stability is flawed for where you are now in your life. Maybe that definition worked for you in the past, but right now it’s time to do some redefining of the term.

This isn’t easy for you due to your somewhat impressive discomfort with uncertainty and the unknown. It’ll take courage to confront these long held ideals, and discipline to not turn away when you become triggered.

Regardless of this discomfort, though, by redefining stability you can find a definition that works better with you where you are now and your life as you are currently living it. Like the word “balance” requires movement, stability shouldn’t be a stagnant term either.

Other elements included in this reading:
Norway Maple Key for Fostering Strength and Resilience
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: BOTANICAL GRACE TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Gideon’s Challenge – Not Enough

Hungry Gas Tank

Not Enough

It feels like
every day
the gas tank
is empty
again
and we’re
looking for change
between sofa cushions
for a mile or two
more
before it’s
empty
once again

Photo © ZenStatePhotography