Uncertain
If I were to
show you
my
smallest self
would you
smile
and greet
me warmly
or turn away
in disgust
at something
you don’t
understand
or maybe
I should just
smile
instead
Gideon’s Challenge – Uncertain
Author: Twist the Leaf
Summer Solstice 2026 – Midsummer
Today is the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year and one of the eight holidays that I celebrate throughout the year. This day marks the ‘official’ transition into summer and a shift from days that become longer and longer through the spring into days from here on out will grow shorter and shorter for the next six months.
This holiday is often called Midsummer or Litha, although I usually just refer to it as the Summer Solstice. On my path, it celebrates the turning point of summer, where the build-up of creative energy from the spring crests into a time of abundance as we travel into the depths of summer in much the same way that the growing energies of the full moon crest before beginning to wane each month.
Like with new moons and full moons, I usually do a spread to check in with myself and give myself some direction for the next couple of months on each solstice, equinox, and other Sabbats. This Midsummer, though, I’ve chosen to do a Midsummer spread by de_tarotjuf
Sun Energy: Which potential or light within me is asking for attention?
Seven of Swords – Pay attention to what you choose to take and what you deem to leave behind. Strategy only gets you so far, then you need to take a closer look at your priorities and possibly make a hard choice or two. In these moments, what will you prioritize? It’s time to start that prioritization now.
Earth Root: How can this light from within be nourished?
The Moon – Remember that clarity comes from confronting your fears instead of ignoring them. To have the clarity needed to make good decisions concerning your priorities, you can’t allow your fears or uncertainty to guide your choices.
Heart Connection: Which wisdom connects the energy outside with the root within and is my way of finding balance?
Ten of Swords – All things come to an end eventually. It’s what you do with that ending that creates the next chapter in your life.
Summer: Which action helps me anchor this light throughout the summer?
Eight of Swords – You can’t achieve clarity without some pursuit of it. Seek out truth instead of trying to bury your head in the sand and hope the discordance and struggle pass you by.
Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Pansy Flower for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Clear Quartz for boosting Mental Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECKS USED: FAUWNA TAROT
The Ebb and Flow of Progress
Today’s meditation was skipped.
• • • ◈ • ☀️ • ◈ • • •
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Nine of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of nightmares, anxiety, insomnia, and negative thoughts and inner narratives.
The card has then been combined with an affirmation from the Ask and It Is Given Cards, which says, “You will never cease to be; new desires will be constantly born within you. Source will never stop answering your desires, and your expansion is, therefore, eternal. And so, you may begin to relax if, in this moment, there is something you desire that has not yet come to fruition.”
Just because you’re not actively advancing towards your goals, doesn’t mean that you’re not still moving in the right direction.
When there is a lull in activity, it can sometimes feel like you are failing or things are falling apart. Your worries and doubts rise to the surface to plague you and try and push you towards action, sometimes even when inaction is actually the smarter choice.
In these moments it’s important to remember that not all progress is made through active participation. Sometimes we need a pause for everything to catch up and fall into sync. Sometimes we need time to process, and that processing is in itself a sort of movement, even if it’s not active movement.
The message in today’s Nine of Swords and the affirmation card is a reminder that progress is a cycle of ebb and flow. There are fast times, and there are slow times, and both have good reason for being a part of the process. Don’t fight those slow times just because they give rise to your anxieties. Instead, trust that even during the slow time you are still making progress.
DECKS USED: CAT’S INNER VOICE TAROT AND ASK AND IT IS GIVEN CARDS
The @lightningwildflower June Inner Journey Challenge
Reframe Prompt for June 20th : How can my sensitivity be a strength?
Reading Summary: It’s in confronting our fears (The Melting) that we give birth (Birth) to the strength needed to confront the unknown (the chick in the Birth card staring into The Void).
Take Away: Our sensitivities and vulnerabilities are often considered weaknesses, primarily because they are usually triggered by the things we fear.
The truth is, though, that when we confront our fears instead of hiding from them, we illuminate those things we fear and pull them out of the unknown to be more easily seen and understood.
Out in the open, our fears are rarely the massively overwhelming thing that they pretend to be when overblown by our mind’s eye. This new perspective at seeing our fears in the light can then create strength where once there was weakness.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Red Oak Leaf for Fostering Unconditional Love
Green Jasper and Tiger Eye Turtle for Confidence within Progress
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: MODERN THE DIVINATION DECK FOR THESE TIMES
#DiscordTarotholicsJun2026 Challenge
Philosophical Questions for June 3rd and 10th
Do people need other people for true happiness?
King of Cups and Mean Cat
Learning to regulate our emotions and experience the wider scope of their spectrum requires interaction with others. I think a better question is to first divine what “true happiness” really means.
These cards, however, do indicate that it is only through our interactions with others that we can experience the diversity of emotions necessary to actually identify true happiness in the first place, though. So in that context, and under those conditions, the answer is yes, people do need other people for true happiness.
What is something you believe, but cannot prove?
Wheel of Fortune and Cool Cat
I believe that the world, and in fact, the universe as a whole, are constantly seeking balance, and that the good things and bad things that happen are simply another expression of this effort.
The problem with trying to prove this, though, is even when you sit back and chill, you are unable to observe all of the different minute adjustments being made by the universe in its effort to flex, shift, and otherwise adjust with its efforts to find a balance. We are on the ride, but we don’t get to see all the moving parts.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Pressed Pansy Flowers for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Citrine for Energy Lift (easing the weight of heavy energies)
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECKS USED: CAT’S INNER VOICE TAROT AND PAWS OF FURRY GAME CARDS
@de_tarotjuf’s De Zomer In! #detarotjufjunitarotchallenge
Prompts for June 17th through 19th
Which memory can I allow to heal with sunlight?
Monkey – You were not allowed to be playful as a child, and joy nor enthusiasm was encouraged. As an adult, this makes you far harsher on yourself than necessary, especially when feeling silly or playful. This prompt and the monkey encourages you to indulging your playfulness by taking it outside and setting it free.
Which gift or talent emerges when I step outside?
Horse – When you allow your authentic self to shine, you show others the freedom involved in true authenticity, and the strength that is built through determination and endurance in the face of the obstacles that may get in your way. These qualities shine brightest in the places where you are most comfortable, such as in the fields at work or out in the woods among the trees.
Which connection with myself needs restoration?
Butterfly – Change and transformation used to be a part of life that you prided yourself on adapting to and shined at with flexibility and grace. Over time, though, you have become more comfortable within stability you have created, and you have lost a bit of the adaptability that you once prided yourself on. It’s time to reconnect with that more adaptable self instead of digging in your heels when change comes calling.
Which connection with another needs restoration?
Raccoon – Bring back the playfulness and the “family” connection that this playfulness contributes to your relationships.
An example of this is when you were caring for Ms B during her time without the use of her arms. There was a lot of joking and playfulness involved that helped lighten the mood so that the embarrassment wasn’t so sharp and both you and her were able to keep each other afloat emotionally through the hardship.
This type of playfulness can be instilled in your relationship with her, and with others, even now. In doing so it creates tighter bonds between you and them.
Other elements included in this reading:
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Zodiac Wheel (on Gemini) for Connecting with Duality
Citrine for Energy Lift (easing the weight of heavy energies)
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: ANIMAL ALLIES ORACLE
This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.
Gideon’s Challenge – Clingy
Clingy
I want
to cling tight
while you
help me to
sparkle
in the light
of your
love
so kiss me
softly
and help me
to shine
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
The Loneliness of Uncertainty
Today’s meditation was a ten minute #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.
• • • ◈ • ☀️ • ◈ • • •
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Death card, which is traditionally a representation of gradual organic changes, loss, slow moving transitions, and letting go.
The Death has then been combined with an affirmation from the Pass Around the Smile Positive Guidance Oracle Deck, which says, “Recognition: Your efforts in your career are being recognized. The universe and your angels are standing by ready to help you achieve your goals. Call on them.”
Life changes inherently make you feel alone, because there is a sense of uncertainty, and uncertainty has a tendency to isolate those that are experiencing it.
It’s important during these transitions in life that we lean into the trust we have that we will survive these changes and that, one way or another, everything is going to work out.
Anything and everything beyond that trust that we do within this phase of change and uncertainty can help guide us towards whichever direction we want to go as we come out of this part of life and step into the next. The key is in the trust, though, that no matter how these efforts go? It’s still going to be okay in the end.
The message in today’s Death card and affirmation is a reminder that whether it’s your career, or a relationship, or anything else in life that you find yourself caught in the middle of transition, and the changes feel uncertain; it’s through trust, combined with even small efforts to go in the direction that you want to go from here, that are the deciding factor in where things end up in the end. Allow yourself to trust things will turn okay and work towards that result.
DECK USED: TINY TINAS WONDERLAND’S TREASURE TROVE TAROT AND PASS AROUND THE SMILE POSITIVE GUIDANCE ORACLE CARDS
One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 5 | Entry 14 – Health and Body
Affirmation : “I surround myself with positivity.”
Prompt : Think about the last show you watched, song or podcast you listened to, or book you read. Did it leave you feeling happy and inspired, or scared and/or pessimistic? Draw a card to better understand how your interactions with these mediums impact your mental health.
What feelings came up when I pulled this card?
I felt a hint of surprise at the Hermit’s appearance before a sense of agreement followed.
There was also a soothing hint of pleasure created by the card’s aesthetic and color use.
What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?
The Hermit card is all about inner exploration, solitude for the sake of self reflection, and healthy alone time.
My first reaction to the Hermit card when it came up was more of an internal reflection on whether or not I needed alone time to process the book in question.
In this case, it was a yes. There was a lot going on in the book that, although not necessarily triggering, was hovering on the borderline of discomfort. I think it was important to explore why I felt this way about those things and what my reactions said about me as a person.
What in the artwork spoke to me?
It’s interesting me that it’s the star at the top of the Hermit’s staff that shines brightly instead of the lantern he carries. The lantern itself also creates light, but it is of a more muted glow. This speaks to me of how sometimes it’s through the unexpected that we find the greatest amount of understanding and realization.
This was something that I experienced in this particular book as I chose the book out of its being recommended to me due to my like of botanical horror. Not that this book was botanical horror, mind you, but that’s how I ended up with the recommendation.
Instead of being caught up in the horror of the book, though, it instead inspired a good deal of reflection and new understanding concerning areas of life where I have a little experience.
My prompt response and reflections.
Although not the last book that I read, this is the most recent book that has impacted me to the point where it has lingered long after I have read it.
You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White is a pretty brutal book with a lot of well-warranted trigger warnings.
As a horror book, it was a decent read that edged along a number of topics I was uncomfortable with. What I really stood out for me, though, was the understanding I gained concerning gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia.
It caused me to confront some of my own misunderstandings (and unrealized assumptions) and gave me a lot of food for thought on a topic I only understood in the most superficial and basic of ways prior to this.
This depth required time and inner reflection to process, and I think that I’m still working on it a bit on a subconscious level in my moments of solitude and reflection.
Other elements included in this reading:
Green Aventurine D20 and D6 Gemstone Dice
DECK USED: TAROT RESOM
The @lightningwildflower June Inner Journey Challenge
Prompts for June 16th through 19th
Venus trine Neptune: What will help me have a more compassionate heart?
Queen of Cups – Allow yourself to connect with others from a place of understanding and support. When you support others and their emotional experiences, you also learn from that experience yourself.
Venus opposite Pluto: What deep desire is rising to the surface?
Seven of Swords – You have become very territorial when it comes to food of late. Instead of just giving into the impulse, consider taking some time to reflect on why you are feeling the need to hoard food away from others.
Reclaim: How can I reclaim my personal power?
Knight of Cups Rx – Pause to reflect instead of acting impulsively off of your emotional impulses. Take a moment to consider what emotion you’re feeling, and why it is pushing you in the direction it is, prior to taking action.
Learn: What am I learning about my emotional patterns this month?
The Magus – Your emotions can be a motivation when applied strategically, or they can be what holds you back when action is needed. You are learning that they can be used as a tool rather than just something you experience and are powerless concerning.
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: TINY TINAS WONDERLAND’S TREASURE TROVE TAROT
I took some alone time outside at Ms B’s today to sit watching the hummingbirds on the front porch.
Gideon’s Challenge – Fascination
Fascination
A miracle
of modern
engineering
and physics
stands
before me
and as
my gaze
runs over
its lines
my breath
is stolen
with each
and every
move
it makes
Twisting the Leaf 