Author: Twist the Leaf

Morning Bonus Read – Trick Or Treat Halloween Spread

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Because I am trying to show a bit more of my decks this month, as I have a whole LOT of October/Halloween/Samhain decks, I’m doing a few extra bonus reads over the month.  This is one of those extra readings.

Halloween Tarot Spread - Carnival at the End of the World Tarot

Card To Represent Something That Is Tricking Me
The Last Judgement and The Devil

These cards are a reminder that my values and self worth have absolutely nothing to do with my control (or the lack thereof) over my addictions. It’s like equating your self worth with the cleanliness of your home or the color of your shoes. They have nothing to do with each other, but sometimes we (as humans) get all these things mixed up in our head and emotions.

How I’m Being Fooled By This
Page of Cups

This tendency to equate one’s self worth with how we feel about a flaw or issue that we’re currently involved in is a sign of emotional immaturity. This isn’t a huge surprise, as I have spent a good portion of my life burying my emotions and muffling them behind thick walls.  Now that I’m opening up to them  more fully and willingly, little stumbling blocks like these are bound to crop up.

How Can I Gain a Clear Perspective and Stop Being Tricked?
The Sun

Allow yourself to have some fun.  You’re not hurting anyone,  not even yourself.  So there’s no harm in it. That in itself rouses a bit of guilt, although that has more to do with being raised that fun is a waste of time.  I know this is not to be the case, and The Sun card here in this spread indicates I need to remember to embrace my fun rather than allowing the past to influence me into shying away from it.

Card To Represent a Treat In My Life
Queen of Cups

Being able to better connect with and understand people on an emotional level than I have in the past.  I’ve noticed this a few times recently in speaking with others and how I relate to them.   What I used to see as my empathy for others I have now come to realize was far more logic based thane emotion based.

A Way That I Can Fully Embrace This Treat
Knave of Wands

Continue to make the exploration of emotional growth a priority and pour my interest and attention into it.  This might be difficult during the holiday rush that is quickly approaching.  But, ten weeks from now, that chaotic time will come to an end, and I’ll be able to delve back into that exploration with both feet.

Something I Don’t Yet Understand About This Treat
Six of Coins

It’s going to change how I relate to others that are more fortunate than myself, and others that are fare less fortunate than myself.  It’ll give me a new perspective on balance, and on my personal involvement with that balance.   I’m not there yet, but just as I understand empathy more now than I did before, so too will this come into focus as tome goes on.

DECK USED:  CARNIVAL AT THE END OF THE WORLD TAROT

Making Yourself The Outsider

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped again today. I probably shouldn’t have, but I had so much crap to get done, plus a phone appointment with my shrink… and everything just got away with me a bit.  So.. it didn’t get done.  I do plan on giving it a go when I lie down to go to bed tho.

Tarot of Haunted House - Four of WandsToday’s draw is the Four of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of homecomings and celebration…. and celebratory homecomings.  There is a stability to this theme, and comfort as well.

There aren’t many cards in this deck I feel this way about, but I’m not really sure about the imagery for this card in this deck.  What I see here feels a lot more like a Hierophant card than the Four of Wands.  

That said, what really stands out to me in this card today is the four pillars and the burst of flame atop each of them.  That imagery of stability and celebration then draws my eye down to the knife held in a sacrificial downward angle, which then draws my eye down to the two figures that appear to have turned to look back at the viewer.

These three points feel like levels in this card, and what I see here is more about -not- feeling welcome.  It’s about feeling like an outsider. An outlier.  You can see the stability and the celebration in the distance, but there are forbidding obstacles between where you now stand and that comfort hinted at in the four pillars. 

The message here is to not allow issues with self worth or confidence cut you out of the places where you should belong.  These negative feelings and derogatory self-narratives that make you feel like an outsider?  They aren’t what others are thinking.  They are only what you are thinking.  Don’t project your self-worth issues on others and assume that they perceive you as you see yourself.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF HAUNTED HOUSE

LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus, this card today will be my focus.

Grim Tarock - Five of CitadelsThe collection of buildings along the cliff’s face are piled atop each other and disintegrating under the wear of time.  Rocks tumble  and foundations crumble.

The Five of Citadels is a reminder about upkeep.

When you do a little each day to care for the upkeep of those things that are important to you, over time these things wear well and remain in good condition, creating a long future.

If, on the other hand, you do not do that little bit of care each day, over time things deteriorate a little at a time.  And soon, you find that those things you care about have fallen apart and no longer hold value.

The focus that this card prompts for me today is to make sure I’m doing the little work.  One small thing a day is enough to help keep things from falling apart… whether that’s self care, or home care, or relationships…. or anything of value.

DECK USED:  GRIM TAROCK

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Where do you find meaning in your life?

Hephoe TapoQueen of Wands atop The Hierophant – Through my passion for teaching and guiding others. I have found, especially as I’ve gotten older, that I greatly enjoy guiding others to help them in finding their own unique path, and teaching them in different skills and knowledge that I’ve collected along the way in my own life.  I want to help others in finding their own passions, their own interests, and their own beliefs.  I love occasionally hearing when something I’ve offered up “clicks” for someone and helps them in their own journey, or just knowing that I’ve helped in some way in making their life “fit” them better in some way.

The Emperor – Having a sense of independence and control.  These are things I need in my life. I require them.  And, in fact, it is a need that I have built a good deal of my life around, from how I am employed to how my relationships with others work, and even in how I relate to people and the world around me. 

Knight of Swords atop Ten of Pentacles – Going after my ambitions towards stability, security, and a comfortable living.  I feel that this answer is as much about the “going after” as it is about the obtaining of this goal. While I feel a need for stability and structure?  I also feel that need to strive for something, to push for something.  This stability and security is a sort of “moving target” that constantly stimulates that need to strive for something… and at the same time manage to accomplish just enough to fulfill that constant need for security.

DECK USED:  HEPHOE TAPO

#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: What is the significance behind this missed message from yesterday?

Dark Grimoire Tarot

Reading Summary: Lean on others (Three of Pentacles) instead of killing yourself trying to juggle everything on your own (Two of Pentacles). Depending on others is a choice that you have to consciously make for yourself (The Lovers)… and it will make your life better and more emotionally fulfilling in the end (Nine of Cups).

Take Away:  What these cards are saying is that I need to fill my life with people that love me and want to help.  By doing this, as time goes on, I will find the benefits spill over from my work and into my life at large and that even if I one day grown into a lonely old man alone in the world, I will feel emotionally fulfilled by all those past people that were a part of my life. The key here is that this is a choice.  A choice you make for yourself.  Letting people in is a choice that you have to start early and allow to then carry forward through the years ahead.

DECK USED:  DARK GRIMOIRE TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_5594Jagged Tips

Sharp peaks
break above
a blanket of white
to whisper
goodnight
to the setting sun
as cool
blue shade
washes over
cloudy planes
to deepen
the shadows below.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Mamma’s Boy

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Pull up to three cards use them as the inspiration to describe a ghost
as well as where (or who) the ghost is haunting.

Terror TarotGordie spent his life so wrapped up in his addictions (The Devil) to the point that he no longer had any control over his life or his surroundings (The Emperor Rx).  He fell into one habit and addiction after another, lead astray by other’s whims and his own temptations again and again until one day his body decided that it had had enough and he died.

When he passed, his mother’s (The Empress) grief was so great that Gordie worried she might never recover.  He felt such huge guilt over his failures in life and having disappointed her so much, that he decided to stay with her (The Fool) instead of allowing the light that tried to pull him away from this earthly plane (The World).

Choosing to stay for his mother, he followed her around, trailing after her like a lost puppy (The Fool again).  Sooner or lather, though, she will pass as well.  And Gordie, having made his choice to remain, will then be all alone (The Hermit) with a solitary future stretching out before him.

DECK USED: TERROR TAROT

Strength and Tenderness

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was again curtailed due to the need for sleep. I didn’t mean to doze off, but I’ve just been so tired these last couple of days and the moment I settled in and relaxed? Suddenly I was out like a light.

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot - King of CupsToday’s draw is the King of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition.

I don’t know what it is about this card, but there’s something so… sexy here.   I’m not sure what.  Maybe it’s the shoulder.  Or the hip.  Or the fact that the hand appears to be holding that scrap of tartan in place.  Whatever.  It’s hot.   And thus…. my brain goes to Gideon, because Gideon is hot… and is my King of Cups.

The thing that draws my gaze the most (along with the whole hotness factor) is the drape of tiny pearls. They hang from his hat, drape his body, as well as his right hand.

What I see here is a contrast between strength and fragility, power and delicacy.  It displays a balance.  The same sort of balance that Gideon shows me every day.  The balance I crave… especially when I am feeling vulnerable.

DECK USED:  MADAM LYDIA WILHELMINA’S TAROT

LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: Itch-it-a-kup-it-a, mel-a-ka-mys-ti-ka, a poison {1}, the potion {2}, the magick {3}, my witchy calling {4}.

Luis Royo's Dark Tarot

A Poison – The High Priestess Rx – Not listening to your intuition has the ability to poison both your actions, your motivations, and your confidence. It’s important to be able to trust yourself, and when you second guess your intuition, it breaks down that trust.

The Potion – The Wheel – Whether things are on the way up or on the way down, it is through the times that your intuition speaks to you that you learn to trust it in the first place.  This takes repetitive practice.

The Magick – Queen of Pentacles – Only through experience can we develop that trust.  It takes time and nurturing to make it happen, and it takes even more time and nurturing to help it flourish.

My Calling – The Lovers – Some people ignore their intuition, and thus it rarely speaks.  Others accept their intuition and allow it to become a part of their lives.  It is my calling to have this type of close relationship with my intuition, and to choose it’s voice over that of logic or reason again and again so that with each trusting step forward it grows healthier and stronger.

DECK USED:  LUIS ROYO’S DARK TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: You / Your Current Path / Potential Outcome

Gothic Horror TarotYou – Death – I am going through an adjustment at this time in my life. Not just the gradual growth and adjustment that came with the emotional growth I’ve been focused on in the past year… but also the adjustment that comes from shifting out of the more relaxed part of my year into the chaos of the holiday rush.  For me, autumn is all about adjustments and changes, shifting gears and transitioning. 

Your Current Path – King of Staves – I am on the trajectory of diving into my holiday rush. Control and motivation need to be high, not just for myself but to lead those that work with me this year into the fray and give them the inspiration to keep going when things are at their peak.

Potential Outcome – Four of Swords – Exhaustion and a need for recovery.  Ten weeks from now, I am going to be at the end of my rope.  My eyes will feel like sandpaper, my body will feel as if I’m wasting away, and my mind will be a fuzzy blur as the adrenaline of the holiday rush begins to fade. Ten weeks from now I will reach the end of the chaos of the holiday rush… and it will be time to take a very much needed restorative break.

DECK USED:  GOTHIC HORROR TAROT

#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: What message has my Spirit Guide been trying to send me that I have not heard?

Terrestrial Tarot

Reading Summary:  Be proactive (Knight of Swords) about making sure you’re getting enough rest (Four of Swords).  Soon enough you’ll be up to your eyeballs in ambition and creativity (Queen of Wands) and dealing with being overwhelmed by the fray of the holiday rush (Five of Wands).

Take Away:  These last couple weeks are the last bit of rest and relaxation I’m going to get for a wile.  I need to make sure I get what I can while I can and not allow myself to fall into the “oh fuck oh fuck” panic of what’s to come.  I’ve done the holiday rush before, and I’ll do it again. Don’t freak out and lose what chance for rest and restoration that I have left.

DECK USED:  TERRESTRIAL TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How important is my health in my spiritual life?

Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot

Reading Summary:  Think of it this way (King of Needles imagery)… Your loved ones (Three of Potions) are there to make you take care of yourself so that you can get the most out of life (Nine of Presents).  If you don’t take care of yourself? No forward motion will be forthcoming (Three of Candles Rx).

Take Away:  Just sayin’?  But the way that King of Needles showed up was so funny.   It’s literally telling me that I need to really take some time to sit and think about this message.   The message being, of course, that my health is extremely important to my spiritual life.  No health means no progress upon my path.  Those that love me are here to help and make sure that I stay healthy, but their presence in my life is also an integral part of what makes me healthy as well.

DECK USED:  NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_5674Peeling Paint

The green will fade
and leaves will fall
but the paint
of seasons gone
remains
Some say
watching paint dry
is boring
but to watch it peel
can be
a lesson in
fascination.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography