Author: Twist the Leaf

Looking at New vs Old

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Laughing Eye Weeping Eye Tarot - Seven of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Artisan Prompt for December 8 : Vintage
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Seven of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of themes having to do with having a plethora of options to choose from, all of opportunity’s doors being open upon one’s path, and at times being overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available in the moment.

Sometimes new isn’t better.

I watched a commercial from the 80s recently that had a bunch of cars bumping into things, showing how the bumper protects the car from damage and creates a safer experience on the road.  And I just have to honestly say that I’ve -never- seen a modern car take a bump like the older cars in this commercial did.  It was impressive.

It’s not just with cars that new isn’t always better, though. Think about the erosion of privacy, education systems,  and life skills in our youth.

The message in the card for today combined with the “vintage” prompt is a reminder that new isn’t always better. Instead of allowing ourselves to be enchanted on the novelty of new, today’s message encourages us to pause and ask if the “new” is realistically an improvement. What we are sacrificing in the update, and is that new shiny feeling really worth what we lose in the process?

DECK USED:  LAUGHING EYE WEEPING EYE TAROT

@aplacetodock #Yuletide Oracle Challenge
Prompts for December 7th, 9th and 10th

Tarot Reading with the Winter Waite Redux Tarot 2024What is on my Christmas list for Santa?

Two of Cups – Copacetic union. You would very much like for everyone to get along this season. There’s going to be a lot of people gathered together from different backgrounds and different parts of the world, and you would like there to be an effort on everyone’s part to let things go off smoothly and conflict free.

Finish the sentence: “This Christmas I hope..”

Six of Cups – … will be diverse and bountiful.

In an echo of the previous question, there’s a hope here for a harmony, even during times of collected diversity.  Lots of different people (and options) gathered around, and no shit stirring or anxiety involved, would be lovely.

What direction comes from the Christmas Star?

Death – Don’t allow your resistance to change fuck up your holiday happiness.  Change isn’t really your strong suite and you have a tendency to be stubborn and try to hold on as long as possible.  The direction given by the Christmas Star this year is to take care not to balk to much.  Go with the flow where you can in order to allow for changes to come and go with ease and the holiday season be less of a struggle.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Carved Bamboo for Positive Outcomes
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER WAITE REDUX 2024

@LightningWildflower December Arcana Challenge 
The Emperor Prompts for December 7th and 8th

Tarot Reading with the Laughing Eye Weeping Eye TarotWhere in my life do I want for more stability?

The Fool Rx and The Sun – You want to have your cake and eat it too. You crave stability in all things, but need the ability to cut loose and have some fun. These two contrast, in that in order to really cut loose and be care free, you have to loosen your grip on that stability that you covet so fiercely. You need to find a way to instill stability in this area that won’t hinder your enjoyment in the moment.

What does healthy authority look like to me?

Judgement and Death – Direction towards obtainable future goals while providing guidance through change. No when is particularly comfortable with change. In your opinion, health authority involves someone who is willing to help people move through change in healthy ways. Guiding them towards a future goal, instead of allowing them to get stuck in the stagnancy of resistance and grief.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  LAUGHING EYE WEEPING EYE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I cut myself a break on meditation today, because I was really struggling to focus. I did lie there for about ten minutes, it just wasn’t particularly successful.

Gideon’s Challenge – Textures

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Autumn Tree PaintingTextures

Autumn
fades to winter
only
living on
in surprising
moments
of reflection
where reminders
emerge when
least expected
to inspire
a longing
for a week
or two
more

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Temperance vs Minimalism

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Today’s meditation was a ten minute long #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.

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Mont Saint Johns Astral Tarot - The Devil CardThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Artisan Prompt for December 7 : Minimalist
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The Devil card, which is traditionally a representation of temptation, struggles with moderation, harmful excesses, addiction, and self-harm.

In my life, there is a war going on between the Devil and Temperance. My addictive personality creates a struggle that requires constant vigilance.

For me, anything that generates pleasure has the potential to become an addiction. And, sometimes, my body and/or brain latches on and says “YES!!!” before I’ve even realized what’s happening.

This is a large part of the reason why I say no to myself so often when I really want to say yes.

The problem is that sometimes? The line between careful vigilance and neglectful treatment gets blurred.  In these moments, what should be good for me (avoiding potential addictions) turns into just another type of self-abuse.

The message in the card for today combined with the “minimalist” prompt is a reminder that temperance is the counter balance to addiction, including possible addictions. There is a difference between using temperance to instill a bit of minimalist thinking into your life, and using it to actually neglect your needs. Find the line between the two instead of allowing that wide distance, and all the wiggle room it provides, to stand.

DECK USED:  ASTRAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Prompt for December 7th : Do Spread 1

Tarot Reading with the Astral Tarot by Mont Saint Johns

Bear: How can a period of introspection help with healing the past year’s pain?

Six of Cups – Let your introspection tilt towards looking back into the past. Look over the past year to seek out positive remembrances instead of focusing on all the struggles and strife that you had to fight your way through.

Robin: Where can I express more compassion and patience with others?

Four of Wands – At home. Your dust up the other day with Ms B makes it clear that you need to take a moment to put yourself in her shoes now and then. That moment of impatience and flash of temper wouldn’t have happened, had you really thought about the fact that maybe her hearing is going and she just didn’t hear you the first couple times.

Deer: How can I use my intuition to encourage more gentleness and caring?

Seven of Swords Rx – Take care that you don’t get so wrapped up in your own interests and perspectives that you lose sight of how your actions can affect others. Remember that taking care of “number one” doesn’t mean at the sacrifice of others feelings or welfare.

Squirrel: How can prep and resourcefulness help me through the holidays?

The World – Prep and resourcefulness allows you to approach the end of the year with less turbulence and upset. When you’re prepared, including prepared to pivot when needed, things just go smoother all the way around.

Wren: Where can I find inspiration to help me be enthusiastic about the holidays this year?

The Lovers atop King of Pentacles – Take care not to ignore your own needs. You know how important… even essential, stability is to you. Make sure that you are doing the things that will allow you to keep that stability intact from the foundation up.

Boar: In what way can stubborn persistence help me through the rest of this year?

Strength – Your stubbornness is a quality that allows you to take on more pressure without breaking under the weight… but only for very short bursts before it becomes unhealthy for you. As you approach the end of the year, make sure that you are only taking on what needs to be taken on, and holding strong on the boundaries that keep you from taking on too much.

Owl: How can the knowledge I’ve gained this year help me to trust myself better?

The High Priestess Rx – Lean into the practical knowledge you’ve gained. Although you have made a lot of progress in your spirituality this year, as well as your own personal growth, it’s the practical aspects of what you’ve learned this year that are going to carry forward for you and help you to trust yourself and your decision-making process better.

Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ASTRAL 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 – Winter Rain

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Leaves LostWinter Rain

The water
creeps closer
as raindrops
fall
and levels
rise
and yet
all I can do
is rejoice
that the rains
have returned
once more

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

❤️ 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 Christmas Tales Tarot and Yuletide Lenormand

Earth – Wheel of Fortune – Remember those “sea legs” that you were working on developing so that you could keep a solid foundation during times of uncertainty and unsteadiness in the world? This week will give you your first test of these new “sea legs” of yours. Take note of what works and what doesn’t, and take care not to brace so hard that cracks form in the foundation.

Air – King of Pentacles – Your greatest stability will lie in your ability to communicate well with others this week. Make sure that you are grounding yourself through communication and not closing yourself off from the support and stability that others may be able to provide for you.

Water – Page of Swords – Don’t allow your emotions to step in and keep you from communicating with others. Communication is key this week, even when you’re feeling vulnerable. You need to work through expressing these vulnerabilities rather than trying to hide them.

Fire – Five of Swords Rx – Step away from conflict, instead of locking into it with determination. Now’s not the time.

Waning – Mountain and Dog – Remember that trust and faith aren’t the answer to all problems and obstacles.

Waxing – Stork and Star – Take care not to lose sight of your efforts to focus on the good aspects of things and lean into positivity and optimism. You need that extra boost this week.

Take Away – There’s a great deal of stress placed upon making sure that you are communicating and not trying to hide away your vulnerabilities this week. Instead of leaning into old habits, work on consistency in the positivity exercises that you have been doing to help give you a bit of a lift, both emotionally and otherwise.

DECKS USED: CHRISTMAS TALE TAROT AND YULETIDE LENORMAND

Future Check-Points

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Everyday Hero Tarot - Seven of SwordsThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Mystic Prompt for December 6 : Celestial
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

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.

The other day, one of the Discord servers that I’m a member of asked a daily question concerning if you believe in destiny or fate. To many, it was a surprise when I said yes. Probably because I am always preaching how the future is not set in stone. When you do a tarot reading (or any kind of divinatoin) that’s predictive, there’s always going to be room for error. This is because unexpected things come along and change our trajectory all of the time, and in my experience predictive readings are a study in trajectories.

And yet, at the end of the day, we all die. If that’s not an unchangeable destiny or fate in our future, what is?

When you look at things in this perspective, and in the perspective that I have of reincarnation, what you see is that death is kind of a “checkpoint” in our journey. Everyone hits it… but that doesn’t mean it controls everything you do along the way to getting there. You have choices and free will and things you can do and not do. That autonomy is not affected by the checkpoint coming up.

The message in today’s card and “celestial” prompt is a reminder to not let those checkpoints that are written in the stars as unavoidable in our lives rob us of the joy of the journey and the autonomy that we are given to do the things we want to do along the way.

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY HERO TAROT

@Lionharts #TheDecemberTarot Fruits of 2025 Challenge
Hermit Prompts for December 6th

Tarot Reading with the Winter Waite Tarot 2018 EditionA backward glance

Three of Pentacles – Remember the good times had with others at your side and the positive outcomes that came from those experiences. You’re still often reluctant to ask for help and involve others in your work and responsibilities. When you look back at how it has gone by doing so in the past year, though, you will find that there’s been an overwhelmingly positive result in these moments when you did.

A change of plans

Seven of Pentacles – All that hard work that you’ve done over the years may not be paying off as you expected. You’ve still accumulated many benefits along the way, though, and have the opportunity to continue to foster growth. Your efforts aren’t dead yet, so regardless of the change of plans that have been forced upon you? Keep going.

A second chance

Six of Cups Rx – Don’t sugarcoat what was a shit show. Remember that you can give people a second chance without glossing over the negative that already happened in your shared past. Forgiveness, after all, does not mean forgetting.

A shifting stance

Eight of Swords – For a while, when things were so confusing and overwhelming, as a defense mechanism you closed your eyes and let things move around you without your participation or input. That period has come to a close now, and it’s time to begin opening your eyes and moving forward again.

Other elements included in this reading:
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Die-cut Moose Figures for Self-Assurance and a Touch of Whimsy
Picture Jasper for Sense of Proportion and Grounding
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER WAITE TAROT 2018 EDITION

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Prompts for December 5th and 6th

Tarot Reading with the Everyday Hero TarotWhat is it that you’re burying that needs to be set free?

The Fool – Your carefree exuberance for life. You spend far too much time trying to instill the weight of responsibility and obligation on every aspect of your life, burying that carefree exuberance in the process.

What is your greatest strength that is currently hidden from you?

The Empress atop Nine of Wands Rx – The ability to choose to let down your guard if you’re given the nurturing that you need. Contrary to your current perception, this is not a weakness, but a strength.

Take Away: These two results prompts the question… are you getting the nurturing support that you need right now? If you were, wouldn’t you be able to more easily let down your defenses and delve into that carefree exuberance you currently have a tendency to lock away? So, what then, is missing that would provide that nurturing support that you’re lacking right now?

Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Aventurine Goddess for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY HERO TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I set up my appointment to get my Covid booster.