Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt No.7 (non)VR to Heather Carter

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Heather Carter on YouTube put together a series of prompts titled #31DaysofWitchcraft that she’s been working her way through since the beginning of May. I really liked this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next little while I would do one (or a few) at a time for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts.  I still have a handful more to go… but this week I’m doing Prompt 7.

hummingbird

7. Do you work with a specific animal spirit? If so, which animal and why? If not, is there one you would like to work with?

Although I don’t work with specific animal spirits, I do feel a connection to them and have used their representations in ritual as a connection to specific energies. This isn’t something I do often though, as I feel that even if I am asking for permission first, there is an element of usury involved in using creatures (whether they be nature’s animals, the Fae, or any other creatures) in my magic and ritual.

This isn’t to say that animal spirits, or animals themselves, are not welcome in my practice.  But, I feel that if the choice is not entirely voluntary, without me asking first, then it is taking advantage.   Interestingly, bees are very eager to take part in my practice and are often drawn to my spellcrafting and ritual when it is performed outside.  I’ve also had the occasional squirrel, butterfly, hummingbird, moth, caterpillar, fly, dragonfly, chipmunk, robin, ant, chickadee, crow, and the Fae step in to participate without request.

These unprompted voluntary participation are always welcome.

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Emotional Connections

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Pull up to three cards.
Create a piece of art, a crafted item, or a bit of writing that conveys the essence of an emotion expressed in each of the cards.

Potion Hunter Tarot

The Lovers – A grandfather and his young grandson decided to go on a journey to meet God. The grandson was excited and skipped a long, carefree and trusting in his father’s lead. The father was more practical and he knew that they would have to make wise choices on their journey in order to make it to the top of the hill where God lived.

Judgement – As they climbed the hill the child was full of innocence each step only brought more joy. But, as the father stepped one step after the other, with each step he considered and weighed every little thing that he had done in his long life and wondered if he was really worthy of meeting God.

The High Priestess – The higher they got, the more the little boy seem to chatter on and on, excited at the prospect of where they were going. The old man, though, became quieter and quieter, delving deeper and deeper within himself as he sought the answers of his faith and how he fit within it.

Together these two represent the duality of each card upon the path of one’s life.  With youth comes innocence and enthusiasm, a guilelessness that is tinged by lack of experience and naivety.

With age, though, comes experiences.  Decisions pile atop decisions, and the choices made become something to contemplate on.  Where the youth does not carry such a weight upon their shoulders, with age we come to a point where we must look within and seek out our inner knowledge and inner compass to tell us if we have lived a good life… or if there are changes that need to be made.

DECK USED:  POTION HUNTER TAROT

Morning Bonus Read – New Season, New Focus

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“Welcome to Fall! (At least, according to some). This week, ask your divination tools about how you should be preparing for the Dark Half of the year, which starts at the next Sabbat.”

Pipmen Playing Cards

In what area of my life should I be preparing for rest?
Five of Diamonds

I am currently bereft of the physical supplies I need to make it through the holiday rush that will soon enough be upon me.  Now is the time to resolve this issue and start the long and tedious process of restocking those supplies that I can make ahead of time and have ready for the orders that will begin rolling in once we say goodbye to the harvest season.  For me, harvesting for the winter months is all about getting those things ready that I can stock up on prior to getting to that time of year where  being too busy keeps me from being able to up otherwise.

If I do not have these things in place in time, I will have no time to rest at all once the winter months arrive.   By getting these things ready now I open up my future self to a modicum of rest in the future that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to have.

In what area of my life should I be preparing to keep working?
Four of Spades, Five of Hearts

If I want to keep working, I need to respect the fact that I have to rest as well.  Not just in the future, but in the now.  It’s all well and good to get a jump on the stuff that needs to be prepped for the rush to come.  But it’s also necessary to take time for myself and allow myself the rest I need.  Overworking now will set me up for failure later when I need all the extra oomph and energy I can get.

This is the time of the year to start foraging. Where should I look in my life for an unexpected harvest?
Ace of Diamonds

This is about going through my supplies room and getting things put away.  I have more of the supplies that I need than I realize.  I’ve been slacking off on putting everything away in its proper place, and as a result I’ve lost track of stock on a few things.  The Ace of Diamonds in response to this question tells me I need to make sure I don’t order more until I’ve made sure that I need to.

DECK USED: PIPMEN PLAYING CARD

The Great Glyph of the Sidhe

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“What’s a symbol you’ve felt really strongly to when it comes to your craft. Like a rune or tarot card or sigil or so?”

I considered mentioning the Hanged Man and the Ten of Swords here as a response to this question. But I went with something from my early childhood instead.

SidheSpiralThis is the Spiral of the Sidhe (aka the Great Glyph of the Sidhe).

It was introduced into mainstream by an archeological writer named John Matthews in his 2004 book “The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld” who has written that it was given to him by the Sidhe as a symbol of welcome and a bridge between humanity and the world of the Sidhe.

Since this publication, it has popped up in a number of places, such as on the back of the cards in the Tarot of the Sidhe deck and being featured prominently in the Moon Oracle of the Sidhe.

Interestingly, I don’t know where I first saw this glyph, but I suspect that it was not through John Matthew.

I have been drawing this symbol all of my life, first as a child in the dirt and then incorporating it into spells and rituals as I got older. As I was born in 1988, I can’t imagine that I saw this symbol through John Matthews influences… and I have absolutely no idea where it came from to take up its place within my life.

I would be remiss not to note that the Great Glyph of the Sidhe looks a lot like what I understand to be one of Reiki’s most powerful symbols, the Cho Ku Rei. And yet, the Cho Ku Rei does not create the tightening tug in my solar plexus that the Sidhe spiral creates each time I see it.

A side note on John Matthews – I can’t say that I’ve ever read any of John Matthew’s books, although from looking through those he’s written, I don’t think I would necessarily consider him an authority on the Sidhe and the Fae. His writing is eclectic at best and seems to wander here and there and everywhere on an array of (seemingly unrelated) topics.

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Random Eight

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Shuffle your deck of choice, then pull out every ninth card.
Of the eight cards now sitting in front of you, which card do you relate to most strongly and why?
Of the seven cards now left sitting in front of you, which card do you relate to the least and why?
Extra Credit: There are now six cards left. Assign a real person in your life, a fictional character, a movie, a book, or a song to each of these six cards and then tell us why you made the choice you did for each.

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Part 1 (most relate to) –Ten of Swords – I am a survivor. I survived my father’s tyrannic rule.  I survived the accident that decimated the right side of my body and made it impossible for me to go through an MRI machine. I’ve survived sexual assault, betrayals, car accidents, impalement, a home invasion and near death experience, life-long chronic pain, ongoing physiotherapy, testicular cancer, and melanoma.

I have survived through years of suicidal obsession and urges, multiple major depressive episodes, and just this past year I survived a stalker that tried to kidnap me out of a Costco parking lot.  I have survived dropping out of university a mere three months before earning my degree, the crushing disappointment of discovering my mother is not the person (or mother) I thought she was, a metabolism that is determined to eat me alive, and the loss of loved ones.

I have survived, and learned from, all of these things and more. Each of these things was more than just a painful experience. Each experience brought me to my knees and made me bleed either from my body or my soul… and yet I have continued on.  The Nine of Swords connects me to these experiences, and my survival from them… as well as the fact that I continue to thrive not just despite them, but also because of what they taught me along the way.

Part 2 (least relate to) – Eight of Wands – I’m not getting anywhere fast these days, it seems.  In fact, life in general as well as the cards seem determined to teach me to slow down and take my time more often.  This is not something that is easy for me to do… and I struggle with it even at the best of times. 

Extra Credit:

Two of Wands – She makes lists.  Going on a camping trip?  She’s got a list.  A shopping trip?  She’s got a list. Need ideas for what to do next weekend?  She has a list for that too. If you need to get organized?  She is the one to go to.  She’ll help you make a list, and explain how to use it too.  There’s power in lists and she knows it well, and she wields that power with impunity.

Seven of Cups – A woman that sees outside the box, if you need ideas, she’s the one to go through.  Not that she’ll give you the answers, but sit and talk with her a while and you’ll soon find that your narrow view of what’s possible will begin to open up.  Options appear where none had been, just in the span of spending time in her presence.  Suddenly, the diversity of what’s possible is breathtaking and you wonder how you ever felt your options were so limited.

Five of Swords – He’s one of those guys that always has to have the last word in any situation. It makes him feel like he’s won, and that feeling is something he lives for. Whether it’s a debate or a disagreement, or even a physical fight, rest assured his voice will be the last one that sounds, and what he says will be sharp edged but probably not entirely unwarranted.

The Chariot – Single minded and determined, he plows forward with his eye on the prize. He knows what he wants out of life and he knows how to get it, he has both hands on the reigns and full control over the direction of his life.  Goals for this man?  They aren’t possibilities… they are already his reality as if he needs only to reach out and pluck them out of the air and they’ll be his.

The Tower – She’s spent her life catastrophizing every little thing. Nothing catastrophic has ever happened to her, and yet… to her even a splinter is just that.  The end of the world.  Her life is in chaos, her world in upheaval… and this is how she lives.  Each and ever day is one horrible thing, one disastrous event after another and she is unable to see beyond the cacophony to anything positive in any of it.  She’s trapped in this place… and refuses to try and escape.

Judgement – He lies in a hospital bed and waits for his family to arrive and surround him.  He has things to say, and apologies to make.  Weathered, with aching joints and years of hard work wrought in wrinkles upon his face… he’s had plenty of time to consider all that he’s done and all that he failed to do.  It’s time to make things right, before it’s too late to do so.

DECK USED:  MONSTAROT TAROT

Full Moon in Aquarius – August 2020

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The Hilda Tarot - Full Moon In Aquarius 2020

Yesterday was the full moon, and like all new moons and full moons, I did a spread aligned to the moon’s current themes as a part of my recognition of the moon’s cycle and influences upon us.  Today’s spread is brought to you by Ethony‘s Tarot By the Moon series.

1. What possibilities are being offered to me right now?

Death Rx – A time of peace is being offered to me.  Change is so often a constant in life, and organic change is a theme that runs throughout a life like the circulation system of a body.  But there are moments of pause… of peace.  Of quiet.  These moments are not stagnancy, they are an opportunity to take a deep breath and rest before life moves on into the next change.

2. What area of my life is craving freedom and experimentation? (check
the suit for big clues)

Page of Pentacles – Get your ass outside and have more fun with it.  Yes, hiking in the woods is peaceful and amazing, but allow it to do more than just be refreshing.  Allow these experiences to brighten your day and lighten your heart. Find your excitement, and stoke that fire again so that your enthusiasm spills over into a joyous sense of discovery.

3. Where can I be more open minded?

The Fool – Being jaded is boring.  Don’t allow yourself to become boring.

4. What old habits/beliefs need to be released under this Full Moon?

Strength – Heroism is not always a sign of strength.  Sometimes? It’s a sign of weakness and stupidity. Don’t mistake risk-taking behavior for strength… strength comes from within in relation to doing what needs done and how you grow from those experiences. It has nothing to do with putting yourself in unnecessary danger.

5. Where do I need to go with the flow?

Four of Wands – Let your freak flag fly.  It’s okay to be silly now and then.  The entire theme of this reading (with the exception of the allowance of rest) supports this need to let down your hair, kick off your shoes, and just let yourself have a little more fun with life.   It’s okay.  The world isn’t going to fall apart if you have a little fun and smile freely a bit more often.

DECK USED: THE HILDA TAROT