Author: Twist the Leaf

Standing Strong

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

The Relative Tarot - King of Pentacles - Sitting BullToday’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.

The imagery for this card is an adaptation of a picture of Sitting Bull taken in 1881. The original image has always been one that I’ve somehow connected with and I feel that it fits so very well as the King of Pentacles. He was such a strong leader, seeking stability for his people and providing those people with the sense of strength they needed in a time of trials and strife.  He taught his people independence and fought for the land that was rightfully theirs, lending his strength to not just his own people, but those of other nations that chose to join him.

The message I see in today’s card is about standing one’s ground, and the strength that doing so can create, especially when others decide to stand with you.  Don’t forsake the power that comes from standing strong for your family, your home, and those you value.  Don’t forsake the strength that comes from being rooted, balanced, and grounded in your purpose and goals.  When you are, you don’t just build upon your own strength, but that of all those around you that stand with you as well.

Side Note: I really wish that the guidebook for the deck included information about the figures in the cards themselves, as I’ve noticed a number of famous individuals depicted in the cards, and yet there’s no mention of them in the guide. For example the individual on this card is Sitting Bull.

DECK USED:  THE RELATIVE TAROT

@The.Journey.Well ‘s Friendship & Community Challenge Prompt
Questions for November 17th and 18th

Stay Wild Timing OracleWhat quality in friends can empower you?

Stay Wild – Friends that encourage your individuality instead of expecting you to conform to the standards of others.

Happily Ever After – Those that are in for the long haul, and don’t allow petty squabbles or minor differences to get in the way of long term friendship.

Take Away: You need loyalty, acceptance, and stability to feel empowered within your friendships with others. This sense of security then gives you the ability to ease your defenses, allowing you to become more trusting.

What knowledge could you mentor others in?

Don’t Wait – In following their intuition instead of second guessing that inner knowledge that could flourish into a great strength with a bit of tending.

I Do Yoga – Physiotherapy and body care through yoga, and how to incorporate a spiritual element into that practice.

DECK USED: STAY WILD TIMING ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsNov2022 Challenge Prompt
Question for November 18th: Advice I need to hear at this time concerning my family relations.

The Relative TarotReading Summary: You’re going to have to be generous and let go of the past (Six of Pentacles) if you want to create a comfortable and happy atmosphere (Four of Wands ) that’s healthy for you in the present and future (The Lovers).

Take Away: This is about the upcoming Christmas dinner, and the fact that there are going to be a lot of people there that you’ve had negative experiences with in the past. It doesn’t mean you have to become buddy buddy with them or forget the things that have happened in the past, but rather the cards are saying to be nice and not to allow those negative experiences from the past to make you into an asshat in the present or future when gatherings happen. Just be grateful that things are different now.

DECK USED: THE RELATIVE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I spent time playing with Gideon tonight, and it helped a lot in easing some of the tension I had going on in my chest.

Gideon’s Challenge

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IMG_6096Loving Gifts

Bits and pieces
of love
scattered
through a home
are constant
reminders
that there hearts
in the world
in which you claim
a piece
to call home
and reside within
even when
the world
feels at its
darkest

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

All Aboard!

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Tarot Jacques Vieville (Héron Boechat Reproduction)Today’s draw is the Judgement card, which is traditionally a representation of looking back on one’s history and reflecting upon if they are happy with all that they have done and become in life, as well as getting in touch with one’s true calling, and themes to do with forgiveness and absolution.

Gabriel is blowing his horn so hard he looks like he’s going to pass out any minute.Just how long is he going to be blowing that horn before he says “get on the damned bus or be left behind”?

The message in today’s card is a reminder that you have a schedule to keep. Stop allowing others to make you late, as it just ends up with you blaming yourself and is one more bit of negativity dragging you down.

DECK USED:  TAROT JACQUES VIEVILLE (HÉRON BOECHAT REPRODUCTION)

#DiscordTarotholicsNov2022 Challenge Prompt
Questions for November 17th

Kaevane Tarot de Marseille and Convearth Angel CardsMy Desire – Raphael and Valet de Denier – Your physical health and wellness is something that you struggle with a great deal, and that you wish you could get a better handle on. It feels like you are constantly “falling off one wagon or another” when it comes to taking care of yourself, and wish that you could find a better way to be more consistent in your self care.

An Obstacle In My Path – Cherubim and La Mort – You try too hard to stay on a stagnant and rigid path when the path is actually always changing and shifting. You cannot walk straight on a winding path, but must instead work to follow the road ahead of you.

The Solution – Zadkiel and La Roue de Fortune – Be kind to yourself when things go awry. Adapt and keep going, reorient and continue on… but don’t berate yourself or hold these moments against yourself, as they aren’t setbacks or obstacles, but natural curves and turns on the path. Only in resisting these moments do you fall into unhealthy negative criticism of yourself.

DECK USED: CONVEARTH ANGEL CARDS AND KAEVANE TAROT DE MARSEILLE

Mr Lionhart’s The Suits: Revisited #TheNovemberTarot Prompt
Questions for November 17th and 18th

Tarot Jacques Vieville (Héron Boechat Reproduction)Major Arcana – What should I decide on or consider this week?

The World and Two of Coins – No matter how far you go along life’s path, balance is always going to be an endeavor you strive for. Finding a healthy balance isn’t something you obtain and then possess, but rather a constantly shifting goal that you are meant to reach for again and again.

Suit of Swords – Where, or in what way, is my current focus supporting my growth?

Four of Swords and The Hanged – You are beginning to see rest as a natural part of life, necessary and important… instead of as something to be guilty about or ashamed of needing.  This new perspective allows you to more easily get the rest you need when you need it rather than pushing yourself beyond your limits and paying the consequences (that include recovery time you could have avoided if you’d been kinder to yourself and your body’s needs).

DECK USED: TAROT JACQUES VIEVILLE (HÉRON BOECHAT REPRODUCTION)

Daily Self Kindness

I had myself a little bit of a lazy day today. Things are picking up, ramping up a bit at a time in the holiday rush, and soon enough this won’t be an option for me anymore… so I figured I’d take advantage of the opportunity while it was open to me.

Gideon’s Challenge

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Deception Pass, WashingtonDeception Pass

The bridge
bounces
and vibrates
as tires run
over asphalt
and the wind
causes branches
to sway
as you walk
high above it all
and look down
upon water
in paradise hues
and evergreens
cast long shadows
over the surface

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Confronting Past Lives & Mending the Soul Oracle Reading

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Confronting Past Lives & Mending the Soul with the Dragons and Other Rare Creatures Oracle

Card to represent me in a relevant past life.

Banshee Drake – An unforgiving protector. A watcher that shouts out their warning for all to hear when trouble crests on the horizon, and whose “roar” is a harbinger of change’s arrival.

Something unresolved from that past life.

Sphinx – Not a wound or a sin, but a riddle yet to be solved.

How this past life is affecting me today.

Red Dragonfly – This past life taught you to pay closer attention to the small details in life. The riddle would have been solved if you had done so at the time, and the lesson from that has continued to echo down through time.

Why I need to complete this unresolved issue.

Flame Draconis – There is unrest in the spirit caused by this unresolved issue. Resolving it would give the spirit in you a sense of victory and allow it to let go of that “unfinished” feeling.

How I can complete this unresolved issue.

Steam Dragon atop Purple Book Drake – A great deal of exploration, experimentation, and hard work. Research will be needed, as well as stubborn determination. Digging into the past will be a must if you wish to resolve this issue.

Important lesson I must understand fully.

Goblin Daredevil – Practice makes perfect, both in this pursuit and in all things. Don’t give up if you don’t succeed at first. Each subsequent effort gives you more knowledge and experience.

An energy/characteristic from this past life that I should channel.

Cookie Crumbler atop Wolpertinger – Your urges, addictions, actions, and cravings are often driven by something deeper than what is seen on the surface. Explore where these things come from to find a connection with this particular past life.

DECK USED: DRAGONS & OTHER RARE CREATURES ORACLE I & II w/ EXPANSIONS

Support Through the Holding of Space

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Illusory Dream TarotToday’s draw is the Queen of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s resources, financial stability, health, home, labors, manifestations, or other aspects of the physical realm. This often translates into a supportive or nurturing energy or entity in the areas of one’s health, home, and financial responsibilities.

Sometimes… support comes in simply sharing space with someone. Advice isn’t always what is needed. Nor is a helping hand, or a shoulder, or an ear. Sometimes? Just having someone sit beside you and be there is enough.

This is a unique gift that only certain people are able to provide.  For a lot of people, silence is unnerving and uncomfortable, and so just “sharing space” with someone can become the same.  Today’s card reminds us that those that share space with us are treasured allies. Friends that provide a very special kind of support without expectation, and that those quiet moments we share with them are often all we need… and a treasure to cherish.

DECK USED:  ILLUSORY DREAM TAROT

@The.Journey.Well ‘s Friendship & Community Challenge Prompt
Questions for November 15th and 16th

L'Oracle de la Voix des ÂmesWhat makes you feel free?

Libération and Reproches – Freedom from reproach. Independence both from under the thumb of others as well as your own harsh judgements. In these times when you are able to free yourself from these things, you feel weightless and without limits.

What do you sacrifice for those you love?

Message de Pardon and Le Poids des Larmes – You forgive them their trespasses even when they hurt you. There are a lot of things that someone you love can do that you would forgive, that those you don’t love would never get away with.  That patience and forgiveness of past hurts comes part and parcel with your love.

DECK USED: L’ORACLE DE LA VOIX DES ÂMES

#DiscordTarotholicsNov2022 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question for November 16th: Can a person without hope live a full and happy life?

Illusory Dream TarotReading Summary: A person with without hope has no expectations for the future and nothing to protect (Nine of Wands Rx). They work and move forward (Eight of Pentacles) and balance life as best they can (Two of Pentacles) without the expectation of a happily ever after (The Lovers Rx).

Take Away: It does not appear to be that a person can live a full and happy life without hope… at least from what these cards are saying. The best they can obtain is a balance, which does not equate to happiness, nor particularly to fulfillment either.

On a personal note, I agree with what the cards say here.  What is there to work towards or fight for, to cherish or find value in… if there is no hope?   I think hope looks different for different people, but I’m not sure it’s possible to be fulfilled or happy without it in one form or another.

DECK USED: ILLUSORY DREAM TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

Today is orders day, and I somehow managed to get done a bit early, which means I get to go to bed a bit early.  And I’m going to do just that.