Daily Meditation

Where Are You Focused?

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Today’s meditation was skipped because I couldn’t get any peace and quiet to do my meditation in.  I did some breathing exercises, though.

Spirit Speak Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Justice card, which is traditionally a representation of finding balance, give and take, and the cause and effect that balances the scales of day to day life. This card can also be a representation of the law and the legal system, and I have personally had it show up to warn me about speed traps on my commute for the day.

What the Justice card is an indication of here in today’s card, though, is about cause and effect.  Combined with the Flower Fortunes card for today, what the cards say is that when your actions are aligned with where you want to go in life, that that’s where you go.

Just like driving a car.  You look where you want to go.  If you focus on the ditch, that’s where you end up.  If you focus on the tree… that’s where you end up.  But if you focus on the road and where you’re going, then you stay on the road and get where you’re going.  So make sure you’re focusing on where you want to go, and not the potential hurdles, struggles, or obstacles that may show up along the way.

DECK USED:  SPIRIT SPEAK TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

The Sacred Grounds Tarot Club Prompt
Question: One thing to keep, one thing to let go.

Forest Creatures Tarot v2Leave Behind – Eight of Wands – My constant need to push, and rush, and move quicker, and do more. Especially when it comes to my business.  It’s an old and deeply ingrained habit, and although I know it’s not as easy as just emptying your pockets on the dresser and leaving that stuff behind… it is something that I need to make sure that I’m working on and putting my focus into.

Take With Me – Queen of Cups – My desire to expand my emotional intelligence and grow into someone more understanding of myself and others.

DECK USED:  FOREST CREATURES TAROT v2

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned this month?

Spirit Speak TarotReading Summary: To be careful that generosity (Six of Pentacles) is not something you should be walking away from (Six of Swords). Don’t be too hard on yourself; self-forgiveness is important. (Five of Swords atop of The Star)

Take Away: We’re all still learning and we all make mistakes. Not everyone who is generous is out to trick you or screw you over in some way, and you don’t want to live your life feeling like you’re constantly looking over your shoulder for these people.

At the same time, the biggest lesson that I learned this month is that sometimes generosity is a ploy used to further another’s ends and harm me in the process.  It’s important to stay alert and aware for warning signs of this happening.

DECK USED:  SPIRIT SPEAK TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I sprayed bug spray outside on the balcony on… well, everything.  I have to bring everything off my balcony and inside on Monday to stay inside until Thursday so that the outside of my side of the building can be power-washed.  I’m fucking terrified of spiders, so… Yeah.  I sprayed everything on the balcony today with the intent of getting rid of any bugs or spiders that may be making themselves at home on the stuff I’m going to have to bring in.

Dive In!

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IMG_1901Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and was one of the guided meditations from the Calm app, which I chose not to do the timed piriformis stretches with because I was wearing a pair of jeans that was a bit restrictive in the hips. I decided to do them later in the day instead of half stripping just to get my meditation done.

The topic of today’s meditation was about change and how trying to avoid change doesn’t truly allow us to avoid it at all, instead it just drags it out and makes it more difficult than necessary.  Instead, if you plunge into the change and allow it to happen, go with the flow and don’t fight it, then things move along much more quickly, and much more easily.

Shapeshifter Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Page of Wands (Seeker of Fire in this deck… Yes, I know it says Swords on the card, but the suits of Wands and Swords in this deck are all sorts of jumbled up so trust me, with the imagery?  It’s the Page of Wands), which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions and enthusiasm, joys and interests.

In the imagery, as mentioned above, you see boundless enthusiasm. The centaur given the perception of wings in their enjoyment of these things they are inspired to pursue. In the Page you find renewed enthusiasm to expand and grow, a re-connection or a new avenue opening up to begin exploring.

In the Flower Fortune card for today, the saying “If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain”, which perfectly aligns with the theme of the Page of Wands and its boundless enthusiasm for something new.

The encouragement here in today’s cards is that when you find yourself no longer enjoying what you’re doing, don’t just keep plugging a long at it.  Change things up and try something new.

DECK USED:  SHAPESHIFTER TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: When do I struggle to trust others?

Conference of the Birds TarotReading Summary: When their expressed intentions (Ten of Pentacles) don’t line up with their actions (Five of Wands Rx), it tells me to watch out and pay attention (The Hierophant).

Take Away: I don’t think that this is so much about struggling to trust someone as about how I know when not to trust someone.  I see a lot of people that talk about what they want out of life and how this or that needs to be just right, and yet when I watch them, they don’t act in a way that progresses them towards these goals.

It’s like wanting to be a lawyer and telling everyone that’s your goal, but not even bothering to apply to law school.   If you’re not willing to go through the process to get what you want out of life, how can you expect to get it.  It’s not going to just land in your lap.

Anyway, when I see people with this attitude about life, it makes it extremely difficult for me to trust pretty much anything that comes out of their mouths.  Their actions (or rather, their inaction) speaks far louder than any words they could speak.

DECK USED:  CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

Today was the post office day and a long ass drive to the border.  I was so tired when I got home that I ended up taking a much needed nap.  Then I played with Gideon and did my post office haul show and tell with him.

Move Your Ass… and Theirs Too

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Today’s meditation was skipped in respect for orders day and needed to get a jump on all that needed to be done so that I could get orders shipped out tomorrow.

Isidore Tarot Sea and Sand Spring Edition and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Chariot card, which is traditionally a representation of control, determination, willpower and the application of these things to a chosen direction and success.  This card is about action.

Here in this card we see that the Chariot is fully controlled by the penguin king while fantastical creatures pull him forward to his destination.  This is a team effort, but there is a clear leader here in this image that all these other fierce creatures take orders from.

Combined with the Flower Fortunes card for today, which states to “harness your competitive instincts”, what I see here is about getting things done.   Sometimes it’s not enough to put our mind to the task or delegate tasks.  Sometimes you need to actually make it a game and stir up people’s competitive instincts. Inspire yourself and others by using those feelings to spur things forward at a faster speed.

The message here is to “get your shit done, and use your competitive instincts to make it happen”. For me, today is an order day, and the cards say that if I put myself to the task of getting things done and dare the girls to compete with me in the process, that I can get my work done quickly and enjoy a bit of down time at the end of the day without all of the stress and the guilt that sneaks in when I’m moving at a slower pace.

DECK USED:  ISIDORE TAROT SEA AND SAND SPRING EDITION AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

Raven Willow Tarot’s Emotional Exploration Prompt
Question for May 27th and 28th

Undersea TarotWhat role does serenity play in my life?

Serenity helps in choosing healthier ways of viewing yourself (Judgement) and the choices you make (Seven of Shells) in those moments when you backslide into old bad habits (Ten of Tridents).

Without serenity, my inner critic is too harsh. That moment of peace and calm I reach inside to find helps me be kinder to myself when I make mistakes, and helps me put myself back on track instead of getting stuck in a cycle of negative inner dialogue. 

How can I enhance serenity in my life?

Trust those that you spend your down time with (Three of Shells) to stand by you and help you defeat (Five of Swords) the bad habits and addictive temptations that become unhealthy (The Devil).

Knowing that others are there to help me and assist in catching me when I fall out of line and might not see it right away myself provides a sense of security and soothes worry.  This in turn helps foster a greater sense of serenity in my life, and these people become a touchstone for me to return to when I feel I’m overwhelmed or veering off track.

DECK USED:  UNDERSEA TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can you better utilize your free time?

Isidore Tarot Sea and Sand Spring EditionReading Summary: Focus on the gradual changes you’ve been working on (Death) and building the new system that will work better for you (The Tower) then was there before (Three of Swords).

Take Away: In the past, I pushed myself to exhaustion.  I worked a minimum of eighteen hours a day and I never took days off for any reason.  Even when I traveled to visit family, I brought a large amount of work with me and worked through this time away.  When I hit burnout, I would take “a couple of days” to rest where I would then sneak work into those days to do anyway. I closed myself off from my guides, who then had to conceal themselves as my intuition just to get through to me, and buried my emotions, ignoring them and the shadow and internal wounds that I was abusing.

I’ve been working for nearly two years now on not just my emotional growth (which I write about quite often), but also on building a stronger connection between myself and my guides, and creating a better work/life balance that will allow for more self-care and less burn out.  These cards are a reminder that I need to continue focusing on this healthier path during free time, instead of allowing myself to backslide into old habits that no longer serve me and are, in fact, extremely unhealthy.

DECK USED:  ISIDORE TAROT SEA AND SAND SPRING EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I’ve worked hard to make sure that I got my orders done at a decent time tonight so that I could get some sleep before having to do my drive tomorrow.

Look Before You Leap

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Today’s meditation was skipped as I was in the middle of it when I got called in to go down to the salon and do a couple hours of work.   By the time I got back, it was so very much nap time.

Isabel Snail A Tarot Life and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Temperance card, which is traditionally a representation of balance, interconnection, patience, and moderation.

What really stands out to me in the imagery of the card pulled today is that Isabel Snail’s third eye is open, when her other two eyes are closed.   This speaks to me of listening to a “higher power” whether that be your intuition, your guides, the universe, a deity, or whatever your beliefs lead you to put into the role of being your divine connection.

Combined with the Flower Fortunes card, which states “Hate is never conquered by hate. Hate is only conquered by love”, what I see here is that when intense emotions are involved, sometimes we need to slow down.   Slow down and step outside of ourselves and our reactions, seek a better understanding of the situation and those involved.  Don’t just “jump on the hate train” but pause and listen to what isn’t being said.

DECK USED:  ISABEL SNAIL: A TAROT LIFE AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

LionHart’s Reap & Sow Tarot Challenge Prompt
Questions for May 25th and 26th

The Joyseeker TarotWhat potential path is not being explored?
King of Wands and Queen of Cups

Making your emotions more of an element in your creative entrepreneurship. You can give more of yourself and the connection to others through your work. You can uplift and support through your creative path.

How am I asked to explore this potential path?

Reconnect with the stuff that you already do (The World atop Ace of Wands Rx) and work at looking at it from a different angle (The Hanged Man). It doesn’t have to be sunshine and roses all the time, you can start adding in gradually instead of all at once (Temperance atop The Sun).

DECK USED:  THE JOYSEEKER TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Is having a sense of humor natural or taught?

Isabel Snail A Tarot LifeReading Summary: It’s something that develops over time (Death). It’s learned slowly through experience (Eight of Wands Rx atop Page of Pentacles)) and reinforced by others you look up to (Hierophant).

Take Away: Just like we learn to smile by mimicry of other’s smiles, and learn to speak through mimicry of others speaking, so too do we learn our sense of humor from others over time with the added component of personal experience added into the mix to help us develop preferences along the way. 

This explains why some people love practical jokes and pranks, and others hate them and find them hurtful, but might find other types of humor hilarious instead.

DECK USED:  ISABEL SNAIL: A TAROT LIFE

Daily Self Kindness

After Gideon and I discovered earlier today that I had managed to essentially contract the slowly growing energetic equivalent of a tapeworm with an oily “old kitchen grease” cling, I did a cleansing and warding to make sure I severed off the energy and cleared away it’s remnants.

Seeking Out The Good Stuff

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Today’s meditation was skipped in preference for a 2 1/2 hour nap.   I had really only planned on an hour, but it turned out to be more than double that.  Which, since it’s Tuesday, is fine.  It just meant that I got things done around the house a bit later than planned.

Moonroot Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Five of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of apathy, boredom, pessimistic mentality, and discontent.

The image in this card is very relatable to me.  Here we have a scene where snow is falling in the background, and the figure in the image is sitting there like “oh great, it’s snowing” in a very negative way.

The thing is?  I love the snow.  Yes, it’s inconvenient and can be dangerous, but it’s also beautiful and fresh and fun… and in this part of the world, quite unusual. I could understand the negative attitude coming from people that deal with snow for months on end.  But here?  I don’t understand those that can’t see the beauty through the fear or discomfort.

These people stay inside, refuse to even go out for a walk, let alone a drive, and generally just complain the entire time about the weather.  But what is really holding them back from appreciating what’s going on around them?   It’s fear.  It’s the fact that some people can’t drive in the snow, and sometimes you slip and fall in the snow.  They focus on the discomfort, on the fear, and on the negative aspects rather than sinking into the positive and joyful aspects of the experience.

As the Flower Fortune card says for today, “If you are afraid to shake the dice, you’ll never roll a six”.  The “roll a six” for those that don’t know (since I had to look it up) is about the game of craps and lady luck helping you to win.  The message in these cards is that if you spend too much time focusing on the negative in a situation or your fear, then you loose out on the opportunity to actually find something fun, beautiful, or good in the whole situation.

DECK USED:  MOONROOT TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

Raven Willow Tarot’s Emotional Exploration Prompt
Questions for May 25th and 26th

Seventh Sphere RWS TarotWhat role does relaxation play in my life?

It’s a healthier way forward (Six of Swords) into an entire new way of life (The World) where balance is the focus, and self-care and work are more evenly distributed (Two of Pentacles).

Over the past two years, I’ve been working hard at creating a new balance in life where I’m not constantly on a cycle of burnout and recovery.

In order to create this new balance, the key lies in the amount of rest and relaxation I allow myself to have, and in making sure that this relaxation is scattered throughout the day to day instead of “saved up” to use for recovery from burn out.   Because if the relaxation is scattered throughout the day to day, you never end up hitting burnout in the first place.

How can I enhance relaxation in my life?

Gideon may be greedy, but he also has your best interests and welfare at heart (King of Cups). Look back at the things in your life (Six of Cups) that have breathed fresh air into your inspiration and enthusiasm (Page of Wands)… Do more of those.

Gideon is eager to help you find that balance, and works hard to make sure you treat yourself well.  You need to listen to him and take these efforts to heart, as well as his suggestions to help you in finding and maintaining that balance. He watches over you, and watches everything you do with a keen eye, and can catch your slip ups often before you do.

Make sure that a part of your relaxation process includes those things you enjoy.  It doesn’t always have to be about sleep, but it needs to be about distancing yourself through small acts of personal kindness from the stress and pressure of work… and the stress and pressure you put on yourself concerning your responsibilities.

DECK USED:  SEVENTH SPHERE RWS TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do you need to focus on for self-care for this full moon?

Moonroot TarotReading Summary: Those around you that you support (Six of Pentacles) are seeking new ways to return the favor (Page of Pentacles).  Don’t turn them away in your stubbornness (Eight of Swords Rx).

Take Away: Although the relaxation mentioned in your previous reading is an important part of finding a new and healthier balance in your life, so is making sure that you are staying open to the help others are offering.  Don’t reject out of pride or stubbornness.  Allow them to try, teach them how to help you, and share the load instead of carrying it all on your own shoulders.

DECK USED:  MOONROOT TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nice long nap today.  I didn’t realize how badly I needed it until I woke up and felt so much better afterward.

Fertile Soil

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IMG_1743Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and was another of the guided meditations from the Calm app combined with an interval timer for stretches.  I don’t really do meditations on order days, but I really felt the need today so I went ahead and did it anyway.

Today’s meditation was about making sure that you are taking care of yourself and doing the things needed to keep yourself healthy and happy, because if you want to help others you have to help yourself first.  If there’s no energy or if you’re burnt out, you’re not operating at your best… and that means you’re not giving your best either.

The Alchemist's Garden Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Tower card, which is traditionally a representation of tearing down established structures and patterns in order to make room for something new to be built in its place.  This type of change comes on suddenly, is chaotic, and can often be frightening or painful.

The Iboga plant (Tabernanthe iboga) is a psychoactive plant that is highly toxic and commonly used in certain areas of the world to bring about visions and near death experiences.  It is my understanding that through the process of these NDEs it is believed that you tear down you shed your past, your sicknesses, or your life that is not working for you, and return with fresh and fertile soil to build from moving forward.

Combined with the Flower Fortune Card, which states “Never fear what you do not know”, what I see here is a message about that process of tearing down to re-build. Sometimes we invest a lot… a lot… in making something work in our lives.  And it can feel horrible when that thing just isn’t working, or maybe it did work for a long time, but isn’t anymore.  When those things are dismantled or torn out of our lives, the change we struggle with isn’t about losing those things usually.  It’s about the unknown that lies ahead.

The message in today’s cards is a reminder.  Don’t allow fear to keep you from tearing down what isn’t working and starting fresh.  Starting again puts all the control in your hands, and fertile soil in your life with which to grow something new and beautiful from.

DECK USED:  THE ALCHEMIST’S GARDEN TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

The Sacred Grounds Tarot Club Prompt
Topic for May 23rd thru 25th:

Tarot RenardMind – Forefront of Consciousness
Four of Swords, Eight of Swords atop Page of Swords

You are fooling yourself if you think that you are looking at rest in a healthy manner. You’re not getting enough and you know it. Open your eyes and look closer.

Body – Subconscious
The Tower and The High Priestess

That inner critic needs to go. It’s holding you back and even your intuition is being affected.

Spirit – Deepest Desire
Ten of Cups

Happy home, success, more positivity.  Stop looking so hard at the earthy side of things and pay more attention to the watery elements in your life.  Emotions are more important.

Spirit – Deepest Issue
Nine of Swords

Anxieties and worries clouding your judgment. Fears holding you back. The hesitation you’re dealing with isn’t about time or preparedness.  It’s about fear.  Deal with the fear and the procrastination you’ve been feeling in so many areas of your life lately will lift as a result.

DECK USED:  TAROT RENARD

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What are you ignoring that needs to be dealt with?

The Alchemist's Garden Tarot

Reading Summary:  Closed minded thinking from an external source (Hanged Man on its side) is holding you back (The Chariot in the left position) and stealing your potential and progress (Eight of Wands in the right position).

Take Away: This is the second time in a few days that the topic of a closed minded influence in my life has been brought up. I can’t think of anyone in my life at this time that could be exerting this influence, but it’s clear from these cards that they (or a situation causing this mindset) is on the way, and that I need to shut it down quickly when it arrives.

This could be about “all or nothing” thinking in the moment.

DECK USED:  THE ALCHEMIST’S GARDEN TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I’m soaking in the bath before bed tonight.