Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

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

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Mamma’s Boy

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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

Morning Bonus Read – Samhain Tarot 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.

Samhain Tarot Spread - Trick or Treat Playing Cards

Life: What is my soul purpose in this life?
Eight of Diamonds

My soul’s purpose in this life is to learn and grow.  It’s about taking lessons learned in my past incarnations and honing my understanding of them, and of myself. This incarnation of my soul is about developing skills.  I don’t think this is so much about the “developing skills” of the earthly plane, though, but more about developing my skills of manifestation and perhaps skills involved with learning how to continue to move on no matter the hurdles trying to hold me back.

Death: How do I honor and learn from the dead and past?
Queen of Hearts

It is important to instill empathy and understanding into the honoring of the dead and the past.   We cannot know the nuances of what has created these past situations or caused those that have passed to do the things they did in life.  It is with understanding and empathy, that we can direct love to those situations and people no matter their mistakes or issues that you may not agree with.

Veil: What message does the other side have for me right now?
Four of Hearts

Don’t be a sour sack.  Right so…. the thing is?  I’ve had a few rough days this week.  There was the day that took 3x the time to do just about everything (including things as small as screwing a cap on a bottle).  Then the day where everything I touched ended up tipped over or upended (including my chili bowl ending up upended on the couch).   And lets not forget the day that damned near everything I touched ended up on the floor (including a pan full of boiling water and a good half of each deck of tarot cards I picked up).

It kind of begins really difficult to not become a sulky sourpuss after a streak like that… but I’m trying.

Trick: What distracts me from my soul purpose?
Jack of Diamonds atop Two of Clubs

Sometimes a slow pace is a good thing, but sometimes?  That same slow pace causes a lack of direction.  It’s like when you have a million thoughts in your head and you say “I’ll remember them and write them down later” instead of doing it right away.  Half the good ideas never get written down no matter how good your intentions.

It’s the same with my soul’s purpose.  Sometimes, when the pace is slow, I get drawn off and lose direction, then have to find my way back again.

Treat: How does my soul purpose give me joy?
Jack of Spades atop Four of Clubs

Part of that journey my soul is going through involves all those digressions that lead me astray along the way.  Part of my soul’s journey is learning to return to the path forward when I get distracted. And each time I return to my path after having gotten distracted it is like returning home once again, and the puzzle pieces fit back into place.  I can feel it happen when these times are upon me, and there is a great deal of pleasure and joy in those moments.

DECK USED:  TRICK OR TREAT PLAYING CARDS

Morning Bonus Read – All Hallowed 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.

Boho Tarot's All Hallowed Spread - Trionfi Della Luna

How I Honor Myself
King of Wands

I honor myself by going after the things that I want. I respect my opinions enough to know the path before me.  The King of Wands is looking towards the “others” card, indicating that I also honor myself by being willing to use my enthusiasm to lead others as well.

How I Honor Others
Eight of Swords

I honor others by turning a blind eye to their faults when I can, and accepting that their path is their path… and my path is my path, and everyone’s path as unique and different. I can accept these differences easily and do not find the need to dig into everything about their path… and have no need to influence them into walking my path.

How I Honor the Divine
Ace of Wands

I honor the Divine by allowing the divine to inspire me and lead me into new adventures.  I interact with the Divine through my enthusiasm, and through that enthusiasm I honor and explore what the Divine has to teach me.

DECK USED:  TRIONFI DELLA LUNA

Morning Bonus Read – Rest In Peace?

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This week, chat with your divination tools about what things in your life need to be laid to rest.”

Piatnik's The Horror! Movie Playing CardsWhat general area of my life needs to see some death at this point? (Relationships, work, education, physical health, mental health, etc)
Three of Clubs

Passion projects that you have been working on lately are now in need of being set aside.  There’s a handful of things you started that are just not going to get done.  Not right now.  Not this year.  Set them aside for now and you can reconsider them and whether they should be resurrected once the new year has passed.

What specific things do I need to lay to rest over the next month?
Ace of Clubs

This is an echo of the previous question with a bearing down of focus on those creative passion projects that you have begun to invest in most recently.  The holiday rush is coming on fast and will be here before you know it.  You might not want to set these things aside since you’re feeling so very passionate about them at the moment… but do it anyway.

How will this affect me emotionally?
Four of Spades

By setting these passion projects aside for the rest of the year, it will create space for you to rest and recover rather than feeling the need to “go go go” without any rest or restoration at all.

How will this affect me mentally?
Nine of Clubs

Setting aside projects in this way has a tendency to make me feel guilty and defensive about the need to set things aside in the first place and the decision to do so.

How will this affect me physically?
Three of Spades

Anxiety and my inner dialogue creating hurt feelings… here we come.  This physical reaction is a response to the mental recriminations going on.  It’s about inner demons spilling out into physical symptoms.  That’s okay.  Pretty soon I’ll be too damned busy to worry about it and the increased anxiety will fade.

How should I cope with these emotional effects in the healthiest way?
Seven of Diamonds

With time and patience.  It’s important to understand that what’s happening in the present is just temporary.  It’s okay… and soon time will trudge on and things will change again.  So look forward to where you want to go, and work in the direction of where you want to be when you get to the other side of the holiday rush.

How should I cope with these mental effects in the healthiest way?
King of Spades

Take control of your inner dialogue and shape that shit up.  You may not be able to control every single aspect of that inner voice, but when you catch yourself listening to those negative whispers?  Take control of the situation and turn things around in your favor.

How should I cope with these physical effects in the healthiest way?
Ten of Hearts

Just recently you have begun to feel a sense of emotional completion that you’ve never experienced before, and you understand that this experience is through the growth that you’ve been working with exploring over the spring and summer of this year.

The Ten of Hearts card here is about focusing on where you want to be at the end of running the gamut of the holiday rush.  You want to return to your emotional growth and leaning into a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence… and to that sense of emotional completion you’ve now had a hint of a taste of.  The goal is to find yourself on the path where you can return to the warm glow of leisurely emotional exploration.  Train you focus there, like a light at the end of a long tunnel glowing in welcome.

DECK USED:  PIATNIK’S THE HORROR! MOVIE PLAYING CARDS

Countdown to Samhain – Part 1

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

I discovered this little challenge on Instagram and thought I’d give it a go.  Since it’s not demanding a card pull each day, I thought it might be fun to use it for a couple of my Pagan’s Perspective posts instead of adding it to my daily rotations.

Countdown to Samhain #samhaincountdown1  Okay so this one might be just a lil’ weird since this is my blog and all.  But… Hi, I’m Twist. I’m in my early 30s and live in the Pacific NW.  I have a twin sister and a beautiful tortie cat named Luna.  I am a farm hand, a jewelry designer, a gardener, a nature photographer, a fortune teller, a teacher and a student, a non-theist pagan, a survivor (of cancer among other things), and I am in a life-long battle with the inky black pit of clinical depression. I have an education in botany and horticulture, and a deep affinity for the earth and those things that grow from it.

2  My favorite thing about Samhain is the crisp feeling in the air. I love that the weather has changed and the scent in the air at this time of year is more than just that of a season’s change, but speaks to me of so many elements from the thinning of the veil to the wet and decay that autumn brings.

3  My favorite divination tools are cards.  Sometimes tarot, sometimes playing cards, sometimes image only cards.  But it’s cards.  Always cards.  It’s not the only divination tools that I use, but absolutely is my favorite.

4  Samhain is about religion, Halloween is about aesthetic.  Samhain is about ancestors, Halloween is about spooky stuff.  Samhain includes a dumb supper, Halloween includes trick or treating.

SkeleTarot - Knight of Cups5  The page of cups is all about going after your heart’s desire.  It’s about taking that pursuit seriously and using your creativity combined with action to not just claim what your heart wants, but express your emotions clearly and openly… essentially wearing your heart upon your sleeve.  The Knight of Cups as the focus for this month is an indication that if I want things to go a certain way? It’s time to act upon those needs and heart’s desires to make sure that I am able to achieve what I want.  I feel this is a direct play off the COTD I had the other day which indicated you must “start as you want to go forward”.  In other words, don’t procrastinate in finding that grounding and balance with my life, responsibilities, and emotional growth.  Do it.

6  Turkey.  I mean, we’re talking seasonal food so, yeah.  Oven roasted turkey.

7  Okay, so I’ve done this before on this blog and you can see my altar setup in that past post. Nothing really has changed concerning it’s set up other than the fact that the hand mirror in the photos for that post has been removed and replaced with my great-great-grandmother’s divination cards.

8  To be honest?  I don’t really have a tarot card that I associate specifically with Samhain, or with any of the Sabbats for that matter.  I tried to think about it and pick one out, but I guess that I do not see the Sabbats in that way… or see the cards in that way?   It seems like an odd correlation to me.  Now, I have a crapload of decks that are Samhain/Halloween based.  But not a specific card.

9  I have created two of them for this month that are focused upon Samhain and the season.  One is focused on the animal and plant correspondences of the season… and the second is focused on the plant and stone correspondences of the season.

SkeleTarot - The Devil and Eight of Pentacles10  The Ghost of Samhain Past is represented by the Devil and the Eight of Pentacles.  These cards mark the path that I have taken in the past during this time of year.

The temptation to work myself to the bone and forsake sleep or any kind of self care in order to gear up for the holiday rush and be full prepared for what is to come.  It indicates that that temptation is something that has become a bit of an addiction, and a habit that I am working to now break.

SkeleTarot - Nine of Swords11  The Ghost of Samhain Present this year is represented by the Ten of Swords.  This card speaks of coming to the end of a journey.  Not just the end of any journey, but the end of a painful journey that has not been kind to me along the way.  That journey is the habits of my past that are indicated in the cards pulled for the Ghost of Samhain Past.   I am, in essence, working to kill those bad tendencies and the addictive pull to push myself too hard and treat myself too harshly.  The Ghost of Samhain Present says that I have reached a point where I can put that behind me and start anew on a new path… but only if I am willing to pick myself up from the ashes and keep moving forward… not looking back.

SkeleTarot - Six of Pentacles12 The Ghost of Samhain Future is represented by the Six of Pentacles. As a card of generosity and economic balance, it’s appearance as the card of the Ghost of Samhain Future indicates that in riding out this change and using this time to find my grounding and my path, my balance and a better way forward, that the future ahead looks bright.  Allowing for balance to take hold and the ability to sustain and flourish with this new way of doing things not just possible but absolutely probable.  This card indicates that there is no need to worry about if I’m going to find a new balance that is healthier and more sustainable.  It’s not just possible… but the most probable outcome looking at the trajectory forward.

13  A number of them, actually.   My sister spend the time between Beltane and Samhain planning our Samhain ritual.  The time between Mabon and Samhain is our favorite time of year and we participate in a number of spellcasting and rituals together during this time of year, culminating in our largest ritual of the year on Samhain.  Included in this ritual is a dumb supper and respectful offering to our ancestors, as well as spellcraft that involves the releasing of stagnant energy and habits that are no longer useful us.

14 Green is slowly turning to oranges and browns.  There’s a great deal of evergreen plants in my area of the world, but the deciduous trees and seasonal plants begin to lose their leaves, which causes the forest’s greenery to take on a darker shade as there are more trunks and branches and more old growth evergreens rather than the brighter green of the plants that do not keep leaves year round.   Leaves start to leave their imprints upon pavement, stamping the pavement with the echos of their shapes as rain washes away the debris.  By the end of the month, most trees that are going to lose their leaves will have lost them all, and the gray skies will be back in full force making each day “sweater weather” damp and comfy.

15  Yes.   As I mentioned above, my sister and I will present offerings to our ancestors during Samhain, and invite them to join us in our dumb supper, setting places for them at the table and significant items for those we remember in the center of the table to make sure they know they are being remembered.