Author: Twist the Leaf

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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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 Green Menagerie Tarot and Dawag Lenormand

Earth – The High Priestess – Follow your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, then don’t do it, no matter how tempting it may be. Not following your gut undermines your connection with your intuition, so listen and take to heart what it says instead of just hearing its message.

Air – Ace of Pentacles atop Six of Cups – If you want to attempt reconciliation, now’s the time. Buy some flowers and go for a visit. Communicate openly and make an effort. The channels of communication are open and receptive.

Water – Three of Wands – Reconciliation isn’t the only opportunity available to you this week if you’re willing to step up and take a plunge. It really depends on what you want out of the situations you find yourself in.

Fire – Queen of Pentacles – Make sure to focus upon the things that can offer growth, stability, and sustainability. There’s no point in jumping on an opportunity that will just weigh you down and take too much out of you to sustain and grow.

Waning – Bouquet and Coffin – Don’t allow people you don’t trust that you’ve cut out of your life to “butter you up” with gifts or ideas. There’s no boon there for you, no matter how pretty a ribbon they tie around it.

Waxing – Stork and Ring – This isn’t to say there isn’t good stuff poised to land on your doorstep, just be careful who you trust to keep their promises.

Take Away – Lots of opportunities coming your way this week from potential reconciliation to opportunities to seize upon wants and desires. Keep in mind when making decisions that sustainability is going to be a key factor, and that even above that is your gut’s reaction. If you gut says no… the answer is no. Even if you can’t reason out why.

DECKS USED: THE GREEN MENAGERIE TAROT AND DAWAG LENORMAND

Gideon’s Challenge – Anticipatory

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Rosehips

Anticipatory

rosehips
swell in
autumn’s call
as petals
fall away
and the
softness
of blooms
gives way
to the
hard knots
of fall
announcing
decay
is on the way

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Unconditional Love

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Today’s meditation was a six minute #DailyTrip session from the @Calm.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌾    •    ◈    •    •    •

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

Grimalkin Tarot - Ten of Cups and a card from The Nourished Heart Oracle

Today’s draw is the Ten of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of feelings of completion, connection with others and harmony in those connections, and is often considered as the “happy family” card.

The Ten of Cups has then been combined with the Shame card from The Nourished Heart Oracle, which says, “Shame tells me I’m unworthy of love and belonging.”

When you build a life filled with love, there is no room for shame. When you have unconditional love in your life, there is nowhere for shame to grow.

Because shame is a feeling of being unworthy of love and belonging, once you have a life filled with unconditional love, that acceptance steals the air out of shame’s lungs, leaving it with nowhere to take root.

This is why it’s important to have values and mores that aren’t based on the judgements of others, but upon your own moral compass. When you know in your gut what is right and wrong for you, there is no need for shame. Not to control your own actions, nor to provide guidance in right and wrong.

The message in today’s Ten of Cups and affirmation card is a reminder that fear of losing those you love due to one’s mistakes is a sign that your are not being loved unconditionally. These cards encourage us to seek out those who do love us unconditionally, and build our lives with those people at its center. In doing so, we create a much happier life not just for ourselves it for them as well.

DECKS USED:  THE GRIMALKIN TAROT AND THE NOURISHED HEART ORACLE

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 20th : meet me at the wrack line

Creative Writing with the Cute Black Cat Playing Cards

we met at the beach
and sat upon the sand
(Four of Spades)
discussing our worries and fears
(Nine of Spades)
as the sunrise douses the land
(Two of Hearts)
and as early morning rays of hope
spark a new day clear
(Ace of Clubs)
we build a sandcastle on the beach
(Eight of Diamonds)
and filled it with out tears
(Three of Spades)
until the tide comes in
(Ace of Hearts)
and washes them all away
then we rinse our hands of sand
(Eight of Hearts)
ready to begin the day
(Jack of Clubs)

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Pressed Pansy Flower for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE CUTE BLACK CAT PLAYING CARDS

@jourie.co‘s An Imaginative Life Journal Prompts
Prompts for September 20th and 21st

Tarot Reading from The Grimalkin Tarot

If you kept only three priorities, what would they be?

Four of Swords – Rest and Recovery

Allowing yourself to rest when you need it, without guilt, and using that time for reflection on how things went, where they’re going, and recovery needed.

Two of Pentacles – Balance

Understanding and aligning with balance as movement instead of as stagnancy. Prioritizing movement and rest, work and play, solitude and socialization in ways that allow for both to have the room and space they need when it is needed.

Knight of Pentacles – Slow and Sustainable Progress

Less stress on speed and perfection, more weight given to the steady and sustainable progress that moves you toward your goals. Less impatience and more depth.

What would you choose if no one were watching?

Nine of Wands and Eight of Wands – Violence

Let’s be clear… there are very good reasons why I have considered at times if I might have sociopathic tendencies. I cannot honestly say I haven’t been genuinely tempted to commit homicide and other violent crimes. Even plotted a few of them. I write it up to the creativity of my writing and roleplay, but there are times that I wonder if that’s truly accurate.

Fortunately, I have the good sense not to act on these thoughts. I can’t say for sure, though, that if it was guaranteed no one were watching and I could get away with them without consequences that this would still hold true.

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Norway Maple Key for Fostering Strength and Resilience
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE GRIMALKIN 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 – Impatience

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Lacy Clouds in a Blue Sky

Impatience

lace edged
clusters of white
dance among
whispers
of gray
as the season
shifts
and yet
there’s still
no promise
of rain

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Opportunity Within Unpredictability

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🌾    •    ◈    •    •    •

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

Tarocchi di Giulietta e Romeo Shakespeare Tarot's Six of Swords and a card from the Mindfulness Cards

Today’s draw is the Six of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of leaving the past in the past, moving on, letting go in order to welcome in something better, and transitions towards something better.

The Six of Swords has then been combined with the What Will Happen Next? card from the Mindfulness Cards, which says, “Asking ‘What will happen next?’ can be very powerful. Just by inviting the question, we prime our minds to be on the lookout, like a cat, waiting at a hole for the mouse to come out.”

Just because life is unpredictable doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take chances or hold back from moving onto new challenges. It is in the unpredictability of life we find both our greatest trials and most valued experiences.

This Six of Swords tells the story of Hamlet’s exile, and how he was saved from the death that awaited him on other shores by the Danes that attacked the vessel he was on. He had expected to be taken to his death, but instead was unexpectedly saved and thus given the opportunity to seek retribution upon his enemies.

The message in today’s Six of Swords and affirmation card is a reminder that the unpredictability of life is a good thing, and encourages us to charge forth with eagerness rather than diminishing ourselves and our opportunities by shrinking back in fear.

DECKS USED:  TAROCCHI DI GIULIETTA E ROMEO SHAKESPEARE TAROT AND MINDFULNESS CARDS

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 17th : tuning in to moss and magic

Creative Writing and Cartomancy with the Sacred Spring Playing Cards

lie down within the forest
on a bed of softest moss
(Four of Spades)
close your eyes to the world
and breathe deep
(Nine of Hearts)
let your tension slowly ease
as you listen to the trees
(Three of Hearts)
allow your energy to seep
into soil to tangle
with roots and mycelium
then, rested and rooted
(Four of Diamonds)
open your eyes
to take in the magic of nature
(Ace of Clubs)
immersed within the soft green cradle
of her touch
(Queen of Hearts)

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Rainforest Rhyolite for Facilitating Calm Transitions
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: SACRED SPRING PLAYING CARDS

@lightningwildflower‘s September Self-Talk Challenge
Prompt for September 18th through 20th

Oracle Reading with The Shakespeare Oracle

Mercury opposite Saturn – Where am I being asked to take responsibility for my actions?

Insect / Martius

When you are being reactive and mercurial.

It happens to us all. It’s okay to call yourself up short when you catch yourself falling into this pattern, then owning the behavior and apologizing for it.

It shows greater character than if you refuse to acknowledge or apologize and make it “someone else’s problem) rather than taking ownership of the situation and behavior.

Boundary – What is a line I’m not willing to cross?

Ghost Characters / Lady Macbeth

You are unwilling to allow others to set you aside and forget about you. Although you are often willing to go to great lengths for those you love, you are unwilling to let them completely disregard you and your own needs. You are not a doormat, but require them to respect your boundaries and your own needs.

Honesty – What truth do I need to tell myself gently but firmly?

Contest / Bassanio and Portia

There is sneaky shit going on and it’s important to make sure that you are paying attention; not to what is being said, but to the actions of both yourself and those around you. Words are just words. Look for the inconsistency between words and actions to ensure you head trouble off at the pass.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Green Aventurine for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Moss Agate for Attracting Opportunities for Growth
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE SHAKESPEARE ORACLE

September Prompts by @forgotten.dumpling & @ml.mecham
Prompt for September 18th : thunder rusted my spine

Creative Writing and Cartomancy with the Art of Nature Beetles Playing Cards

at the moment of impact
there is no sound
only shock as breath
leaves body
(Five of Diamonds atop Five of Spades)

and the sensation
of walking on bubble wrap
within the bones
(Nine of Spades)

movement, fast and chaotic
seems to go on forever
(Eight of Clubs)

and then death-like stillness
takes hold
(Four of Diamonds)

It’s only in the memories
that silence broken
as the rumble of thunder
breaks spine and bones
(Ten of Spades atop Six of Hearts)

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Norway Maple Key for Fostering Strength and Resilience
Calcite w/ Conichalcite for Amplifying Intuitive Messages
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ART OF NATURE BEETLES PLAYING CARDS

@jourie.co‘s An Imaginative Life Journal Prompts
Prompt for September 17th : What deserves a clear no?

Tarot Reading with the Tarocchi di Giulietta e Romeo Shakespeare Tarot

Reading Summary: Watch out for the one who comes to you with a new idea (Ace of Swords) on how to grow your wealth and stability (Page of Coins). They are eager, but have no idea what they are talking about, no matter how knowledgeable they may seem (Knight of Swords).

Take Away: I wasn’t expecting this to be a predictive reading, but I’ll definitely be taking the warning to heart all the same.

The warning here is to make sure I say “NO” clearly and without room for argument when the next “get rich quick” or “easy money” scheme comes my way… no matter who it comes from, how knowledgeable they seem, or how good of an idea it sounds like.

Don’t get caught up in the excitement. Say no.

Other elements included in this reading:
Bronze Compass Rose for Seeking Directional Guidance
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Flower Agate Moon for Opening the Mind to New Possibilities
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROCCHI DI GIULIETTA E ROMEO SHAKESPEARE TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

I cancelled today’s dentist appointment and had them put me on the call list for some time in the near future instead.

Gideon’s Challenge – On Hold

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In the Tide Pools

On Hold

sunbathing
seashells
full of life
linger
in cool tide pools
clustered together
among pebbles
and tiny
hidden crabs
as the wait
through the day
for the
rocking caress
of tide’s return

Photo © ZenStatePhotography