Today’s meditation was a ten minute self-guided session based on an affirmation card that says, “You are worth taking care of.”

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The @GlitterbyInk #OctoberAlchemy26 Challenge
Bless Prompt for October 12th : Wonder
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the King of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s financial security, resources, health, home, labors, manifestations, and other elements of the physical realm. This often translates into leadership that creates a grounded sense of stability for others.

It can be difficult, when you have gone through all of the struggles and hurdles needed to get to the place of stability you crave, to still see things through a child’s eye. You get to where you feel worn and jaded, and this becomes an obstacle to connecting with wonder and joyous innocence.

That makes these perspectives all that much more important, though, for what is the use of having the stability and having gone through all these trials, if not to fight for a place where you feel safe experiencing the world from a more vulnerable viewpoint where it can affect you in new and unfamiliar ways?

The message in today’s King of Pentacles and Wonder prompt is a reminder that all work and no play makes for a dull and unenjoyable life, no matter how much security you earn with all that work and effort.

These cards encourage us not just to appreciate the stability that we have created in our lives to this point, but to use that stability in ways that allow us to make the choice to approach life with a sense of wonder and joy rather than the jaded viewpoint of someone that’s made their way through hell and survived to tell the tale.

DECK USED:  BIZARRE TAROT MAZE EDITION AND TWIST’S HALLOWEEN AFFIRMATIONS DECK

October Spooky Season Challenge by @MercuryTarot
Prompt for October 11th through 13th

How did I experience Halloween as a child?

Cat – As a child, although I was taught that Halloween was a sacred holiday, but for me it often felt more about luck and fun. It was about trusting that the dark is a safe place to wander and play, instead of a place filled with unseen dangers.

How do I experience Halloween now?

Milky Way – Halloween takes on a far more sacred theme in my life now than it did when I was a child. It holds connotations of life, death, and rebirth that I am far more likely to celebrate now that I’m older and understand these concepts more clearly.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the aesthetic that comes with Halloween, but it’s no longer just about gallivanting around in the dark without fear.

Similarities – Although there is a marked difference between how I saw Halloween as a child and how I treat it now as an adult, there is also a similarity in these two cards both being guidance cards. This speaks to Halloween being a “pivot point” in the year.

Although I don’t treat Halloween like the new year that pagans and witches often mark it as, I do see it as a pivot point from one season to the next. More so than the summer solstice which marks the beginning of darker days, Halloween marks the a slide into darkness for me where the cycle of each year is concerned.

What role would I have in a horror movie?

Crystals – Solid and sure, you know what is needed to get through the situation with the least losses possible. Unfortunately, some may see and hear your wisdom easily, but many will not. You are okay or even cold concerning the losses of those unwilling to listen, and will unerringly guide those that choose to follow your lead and listen to your guidance.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Cedar Bundle for Protection from Negative Influences
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Gray Agate Druzy Slab for Stabilizing Energies and Expectations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  ALL HALLOW’S EVE ORACLE

October Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for October 11th and 12th : swallowed by a void / how long can I hold my breath?

darkness creeps in, sneaky and sly
so quietly I don’t see it coming
(Jack of Spades)

as it winds through tall grasses
to whisper in my ear
while lie in the grass, cloud watching
(Five of Hearts atop Ace of Spades)

and joy leeches away a little at a time
the world slowly turning grey
the light dimming one increment at a time
(Seven of Spades atop Ten of Hearts)

until months later I come to discover
I’ve lost far more than I realize
and I’m left at the bottom of a deep deep pit
as rain water begins to rise
(Five of Spades)

can I float to the surface?
or must I hold my breath til the end?
I’ve been stuck in denial so long
but there’s no longer any way to pretend
(Two of Clubs atop Ten of Spades)

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Black Spruce Needles for Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  CREEPY PARTY PLAYING CARDS

@owlandbonestarot #OctoberinBetween Challenge
Prompts for October 12th

Rest – Ten of Swords – Stop pushing yourself so hard for things you have no interest in completing.

Give it a rest and let go of them before you allow them to drive you into the ground. There’s no need to pressure yourself to do these things, complete these goals, or pursue these topics if you aren’t actually interested in them anymore.

Move – Page of Cups atop The World – Remember that as you learn more about yourself and what makes you happy, your life goals are going to change.

It’s perfectly natural to shift your trajectory to follow these new discoveries, rather than doggedly trudging down a path that no longer fits or works for you.

Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Pansy Flower for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Norway Maple Key for Fostering Strength and Resilience
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  BIZARRE TAROT MAZE EDITION

I spent some time trying to sort out the ‘today view’ screen on my phone to put what will make my life easier there.