Seeking Validation

Today’s meditation was skipped

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 10th
: Nourish
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Winding Tarot - Six of Wands

Today’s draw is the Six of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of public accolades, societal expectations, people pleasing, and peer pressure.

It’s okay to enjoy praise and admiration from others, as long as it does not become your soul focus for validation.

This is the struggle that comes with people pleasing, and my opinion. You want to please others, you want to feel that validation of their being pleased, but how much are you willing to sacrifice for it?

I think that’s where the line lies between healthy acceptance of admiration and praise, and the unhealthy need for it.

The message in today’s Six of Wands and the “nourish” card is a reminder that we need to find validation in other ways than just through others. We need to be able to nourish and nurture ourselves, instead of depending upon others to always fill that need. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of leaning more and more heavily on others for validation; today’s message reminds us that it’s extremely important to also validate ourselves instead of leaving it up to others alone.

DECK USED:  THE WINDING (TAROT)

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 5 | Entry 8 – Health and Body
Affirmation : “I release stressful situations I cannot control.”
Prompt : When you think about what stresses you out mentally or physically, what energy does the card you draw offered for you to tap in to when you are starting to feel overwhelmed?

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Sea and Sky Tarot - Death card

What feelings came up when I pulled this card?

One of the things that stresses me out the most recently is the amount of clutter I have in my home. It’s always there, piled up here and there.

Yes, I know where everything is, and yes, a good portion of why it’s like this is because I’m running a business out of my home… a home that is not quite large enough to handle the amount of work I’m doing here. That doesn’t change the fact that it looks like a mess.

When I pulled this card, there was a feeling of hopelessness in seeing it and the image upon it, for it feels like a warning that if I don’t get this in hand, it’s going to inevitably come tumbling down on top of me.

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

Inevitability is a huge part of the Death card. There is no other thing in life that is absolutely guaranteed to happen in the future than the fact that sooner or later we die. It can happen in all different ways and at all different times, but we’re all guaranteed to experience it eventually.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

The towering “death goddess” looming over the woman below with her sword and shield. The dragon that looks like it might be in mid-fall from the skies.

This figure may fight the good fight, but one way or the other she’s going to be crushed. She may be taking into her own hands how things play out, but the end result is going to be the same either way because she’s too damn close to the fray to avoid it.

My prompt response and reflections.

This card says that whether I take control and take care of these things myself, or leave them to crush me when they become so out of hand that they can no longer be ignored… sooner or later I’m going to have to confront and deal with the fallout.

The energy this card offers to me is not to just give up and lay down and wait for my eventual downfall, though. Instead, it offers the hope that I can stave off this eventual downfall by trying to take control not of the situation, but of my actions concerning it. Much in the same way that someone who eats healthy can help prolong their life. It’s not guaranteed, but it can help.

If I want to solve this problem, I need to back up and take a look at it from a more objective viewpoint, instead of from the center of the chaos where it all already feels far too overwhelming.

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

DECK USED: SEA AND SKY TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompt for May 10th
: Do Spread 2
Philosophical Question for May 13th
: What is the point of life?

Tarot Reading with The Winding Tarot

Reading Summary: Inspired creation (Ace of Wands) through movement and doing (The Knight), no matter how slow (Knight of Pentacles).

Take Away: The universe was not created in a day. Yes, they call it the “Big Bang”, but that explosion didn’t happen all at once (nor was it actually a single explosion, but more of an expansion). It happened over the stretch of 3.8 billion years and continues on, even today.

Whether we feel the spark to create as a flash in the pan, or as a slow burn over a lifetime, these cards indicate that the purpose of life lies in creation.

Creation comes in all forms from art and science to life itself. It can be quick sometimes, it can take a lifetime, or it can take much longer than that. The crux, though, is in the energy of creation itself.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  THE WINDING (TAROT)
Daily Self Kindness

I made myself a post-it note in the wee hours of the morning and stuck it to my monitor, right in the center, to remind me that today is Mothers Day and I have phone calls to make.

Gideon’s Challenge – Daydream

Sailboat Waiting

Daydream

Let’s sale away
together
and see
the world
from a distance
its troubles
muffled
by water
and time
spent alone
just you and I

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 Heart City Monsoon Tarot and Forest Bathing Cards

EarthTen of Cups – Take time to celebrate your wins with others. It’s not good for you to just move on from one goal to the next without appreciating how far you’ve come and enjoying the congratulations of others that come your way. It really is okay to lean into that happiness rather than shirking from it.

AirNine of Swords Rx atop Six of Pentacles – Take care not to allow your overthinking and dwelling on your worries of the future hold you back from offering kindness to others.

WaterThe Fool – Remember that it’s okay to be foolish now and then, and don’t berate yourself for those moments. Most foolish moments are born in hope, and that hope is uplifting; not something punish yourself for.

FireKing of Cups atop Six of Swords – Spending time with Gideon can help you feel refreshed this week. Make sure that you are making time to be in his company so that he can help you move on from the more difficult and stressful parts of your day.

Waning – “While on slow walk I invite you to contemplate the beings of the more-than-human world; plants, animals, and landscapes. I wonder how it feels when you consider they might be looking right back at you.”

Don’t worry so much about if people are watching you or judging you. Just do your thing regardless. Your imagined perception of what they might be thinking or how they might be judging you just simply shouldn’t matter; so don’t let it.

Waxing – “Our ancestors wandered the Earth barefoot long before us, intimately connecting with this element. If it’s safe for you, I invite you to follow suit. Allow your bare feet to experience the myriad of sensations the Earth has to offer. I wonder what you notice.”

Make sure you are doing the grounding exercises that help you to connect with the Earth, the soil, and the roots beneath it this week. You need this additional grounding, and in seeking it out you will find a greater sense of connection and stability moving forward.

Take Away – Use your interminable focus to lean into the good this week. Praise yourself for your accomplishments, and when others do so as well… enjoy it instead of shying away from that praise. Don’t worry about the negative, and don’t buy into the stories your negative inner narrative tries to tell you about what others are thinking. It doesn’t matter. Work at getting back into your meditation practice, and make sure you are getting outside to spend time among the trees and playing in the dirt with the flowers. It’s supposed to rain this week, which means it’s an ideal time to dip your fingers into some soil.

DECKS USED: HEART CITY MONSOON TAROT AND FOREST BATHING CARDS