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 Deleted World Tarot and The Egyptian Star Oracle

Earth – Page of Pentacles – Adaptation is your friend. Remember that the ability to change and evolve creates stability even as it feels unstable. It’s okay to go slow to ensure good footing with each step. Just don’t stop.

Air – The Magician Rx – Take care in how much you actually listen to your inner narratives this week. Self destructive tendencies are on the rise, and those whispers are not the helpful advice that they appear to be.

Water – Two of Swords – Action and movement will help in keeping your mental health in-check and your emotions in a healthy place. Don’t pause in stagnancy this week, but instead use movement and activity to help invigorate you and keep things fresh.

Fire – Eight of Swords Rx – Make sure that you’re not giving up too easily. Confronting challenges instead of surrendering to them will get you further this week then just letting things go or writing them off.

Waning – Nephthys – Duck-and-cover time has come to an end. Even if you move slowly, it’s time to drag yourself out of the nest. Remember that stagnancy is not your friend, no matter how good it feels to wallow there sometimes.

Waxing – Semed – Instead of staying home when you take a break, choose to go out and do something fun. Spend time in nature and celebrate life, rather than wallowing in cool safety with the walls of your home closed tight around you.

Take Away – There’s a good deal of warning here about stagnancy, and how important it is to keep moving even when you don’t feel like it or are being tempted by self-destructive whispers to burrow in and hide.  Get outside and take in some fresh air. Have fun. Breathe deep.

DECKS USED: THE DELETED WORLD TAROT AND THE EGYPTIAN STAR ORACLE

Gideon’s Challenge – Adoration

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Pink CarnationsAdoration

Each day
my mind wanders
to you
again
and again
and within
these thoughts
my heart is warmed
and my spirit
lifted
because love
tinges
every moment
between us

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Emotional Intelligence

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The Whisper of Stars and Garden Tarot's King of Cups and Inner Joy OracleDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’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, emotional intelligence, creativity, or intuition. This often translates into authority figures that are emotionally supportive and understanding, possessing both compassion and strong leadership qualities.

In my life, no one celebrates me more than my personal King of Cups. Gideon is my cheerleader and my biggest fan. He often knows me better than I know myself, and doesn’t just provide emotional support in the traditional sense, but also assists in my emotional growth by helping in sorting out my confusing emotions and learning how to interpret and/or deal with them in healthy ways.

These are things that, left to my own devices, I struggle with. I spent so much of my childhood and a good portion of my adult life disconnecting from and burying my emotions, that in the present I often struggle with identifying what I’m feeling.

Thanks to him, I’m now learning about my emotions. I can’t say it’s an easy road. It’s confusing and often frustrating. But, what I’m discovering along the way is that emotions have a place in my life after all, and the potential to make life a richer and more enjoyable experience… if I let myself experience them.

The message for today is about the value of your emotions, as well as those that have taught you by both guidance or example how to identify and process them.

This type of support is often overlooked. It’s usually experienced in childhood, integrated, then the source of support (or perhaps the support itself, to be more specific) is forgotten about. Today’s cards ask; who provided the foundation for how you view, process, and respond to emotions? How does their influence still carry forward for you into the present?

DECK USED:  THE WHISPER OF STARS AND GARDEN TAROT AND INNER JOY ORACLE

@LightningWildflower‘s July Tarot Challenge
Trust Prompts for July 22 – 24

The Witch of the Forest Earth Oracle and The Herbal Healing Oracle ReadingWhat does trust look like for me?

Patchouli and Spilanthes – Dependability, especially on an emotional level. You aren’t fond of surprises, and unpredictably causes you to feel the need to put up your defenses, even with those in your inner circle. This is why you choose not to be around people when they are drinking; you view their inebriation at unpredictable and it makes it hard for you to trust them even in the smallest ways during these times.

In what way do I need to trust myself more?

Mint and St John’s Wort – You don’t need to supervise with exacting detail every step taken along your path. Trust yourself to be surefooted even when you’re not looking, even during times when you are outside your comfort zone. Your moral compass and sense of what’s right for you will help keep you headed where you need to go, even when you’re not investing everything you have into staying on track.

Where is uncertainty holding me back?

Lavender and Violet – Your explorations into mediumship could be going much faster. You are currently moving at a pace so slow that it’s bordering on discomfort. That tight grip on “the reigns” feels like it makes things safer, but it’s actually a choke-hold on your progress. Ease up on the reigns a bit and let things develop and connect more naturally. In return you’ll find more comfort, peace, and familiarity in this practice.

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Spruce Tips to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Serpentine Dragon to Bolster Heart and Emotions
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Citrine for Energy Lift (easing the weight of heavy energies)
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE WITCH OF THE FOREST’S EARTH ORACLE DECK AND THE HERBAL HEALING DECK

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nap this afternoon before driving home this evening.

Gideon’s Challenge – Pareidolia

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Tire SurprisePareidolia

A peaceful glide
along city streets
as lights change
from green
to red
and movement
slows to a stop
while tired gaze
slips from
traffic lights
to the waiting
and finds a
shocked transformer
staring wide eyed
through the window
and I start to laugh

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Finding the Positive for July 23 – 25

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Tarot of the Hidden Realm's Four of Wands, Sprites & Beasties Tarot's Hierophant card, and Goose Tarot's King of Pentacles

July 23 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was a self directed ten minute long session based on the included graphic by @Sunni_Chapman; which has a figure holding a bunch of dandelion tufts as if to make a wish and says “I’m doing exactly the right things, because I’m doing what I want. Doing what you want is the right thing, if you want to get what you want.”

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

Today’s draw is the Four of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of one’s passionate love for the security and welcoming energies of home. This often translates into themes that have to do with homecoming, celebrating home and stability, as well as relaxation in comfortable spaces.

Combined with today’s meditation, the card pulled for today really brings home to me just how often I’m not doing what I want. Because… what I want? Is to be at home. Honestly?  That’s all I want, even as unhealthy as that might be.

I say that because there was a time in my life where I was living as a shut-in.  I could barely make it to the store and back, and it’s -very- easy to imagine slipping back into that inclination, especially lately when I feel like all I really want to do is hide away from the world.   Why exactly is that?  I think it’s because I feel overwhelmed.

All.
the.
time.

Coming home, therefore, at least gives some little small modicum of relief from that feeling.  I mean, it’s still there, but there’s this comfort in stepping into a private familiar space that’s yours.  I savor that feeling every single time I step through my front door.  Every time the katy bar is put into place. Every time my ass hits the couch cushions or my body settles on the bed.

The message for today is a reminder not to take these comforts for granted.  Savor them.  A moment of appreciation is needed for those things in life that just feel -good-… even the small ones.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM

July 24 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was nine minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions in the @Calm app.

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

Today’s draw is the Storyteller (Hierophant) card, which is traditionally a representation of traditions, spiritual guidance, long standing institutions, teachers and guides, and themes that deal with conformity and social norms.

When I meditate, a lot of times, I have a tendency to focus more on the inhale than the exhale. I noticed this tendency today while meditating, as the session encouraged visualizing the inhale as drawing in light and energy, and the exhale as releasing stress and tension.

It made me wonder, what other experiences and/or benefits am I missing out on in life by doing things my own way instead of exploring traditional methods? After all, traditional methods became traditional, carrying on through generations, for a reason.

The message in today’s cards is to be open to exploration of long held traditions. You might feel certain that your own way of doing things is a better fit for you, but this isn’t actual fact (and is instead just your own assumption) until you actually give those traditional methods a try.

DECK USED: SPRITES & BEASTIES TAROT AND CHAKRA MANDALAS DECK

July 25 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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

Today’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.

For me, today is an order catch-up day. Having stepped away from processing orders for a handful of days, they have understandably built up in the background and need to be caught up on.

I used to try and do my catch-up all in one shipment. I’ve come to realize that that’s not doing me much good, though, for as soon as I’m caught up I then need another break.

So instead, I now split the outstanding orders into two piles. The more difficult time-consuming orders in one pile, and the rest that can be done easily and be quickly knocked out in another. The more difficult pile, I work on over the span of a weekend, giving me plenty of time to get them all done and ready to ship out in my Tuesday shipments. The pile of easy ones, I prep for a Friday shipment because I usually only have Thursday (or sometimes just Thursday night) in which to get them done.

Although I hate that this means catching up takes more time, it significantly reduces my stress and energy expenditure.

Today’s King of Pentacles card combined with the affirmation. “Go easy on yourself. Life is not a speed run.” is a reminder that part of being responsible and taking care of those responsibilities, is a responsibility to take care of yourself. It’s okay to do things at your own pace. The world will fall in line behind you if your boundaries give them no other option.

DECK USED: GOOSE TAROT AND WILDLING WISDOM ORACLE

Gideon’s Challenge – The Slow Crawl

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Cloudy SkiesThe Slow Crawl

The rain
has gone
and the drops
of cold water
that
heart and soul
long for
are kept
selfishly
away as
blue skies reign
and
temperatures
rise

Photo © ZenStatePhotography