Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

Weekly Creativity Prompt – A Dream

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Pull (at least) three cards use them as the foundation to write about one of your dreams (either literal or aspirational).

IMG_5515In the dream I awake in the ditch beside an abandoned street (High Priestess). It’s night time and chilly but not cold.  There is a slope on one side of me and the street on the other and as I rise I find friends arguing with each other a short distance away (Justice beneath Strength).

They are arguing about going to a haunted house, and as they start to climb the hill, I can see the house in the distance at the top.  In order to get there, we have to take a zigzagging route with some wooden ramps and bridges made of wood that cross over deep cracks in the ground. (The Tower).

When we reach the house, there is a party going on inside, but each time you go through a doorway, you end up in an entirely different part of the house.  I go through the doorway from the kitchen to the living room, and end up in the attic. (Wheel of Fortune)

I get creeped out by the behavior of the party goers, which seems to be becoming more and more malicious the longer we stay.  None of my friends want to leave, so I decide to take off on my own. (The Chariot)

Getting down the hill and through all the different ramps and bridges, over the rocks and boulders, all seems much more difficult as I try to get back to the road than on my way uphill.  All the way down, I feel the need to go faster and faster, as if something evil is breathing at the back of my neck, ready to devour me if I slow down or turn around (The Moon).

And then I wake up.

DECK USED:  DARK SPHYNX TAROT

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 28 (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 like this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next few weeks, I would do one (or a few at a time) for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts and work through them a bit at a time.

acorn

Today’s prompt is #28, and is about how I was raised and the path that it lead me to be on now.  This is a topic I’ve probably posted on before and definitely one that I’ve discussed with you… but I didn’t want to leave it out.

28. What belief system, if any, were you raised with? How has that impacted your personal practice?

I was raised in a Wiccan/Buddhist household.  My mother is Wiccan and was pretty much almost solely responsible for the spiritual upbringing of my sister and I.  We were raised to follow the wheel of the year and worship the god and goddess and their cycles.  We were taught spellcraft and ritual from a young age, and I do not have a memory of a time when we were not participants in my mother’s sabbat rituals and often participants in her spellcraft as well.

Much of my mother’s path in Wicca resonated… but much of it also did not.   When my sister and I were around nine years old, my mother introduced a pagan parenting mentor to our family unit.  This person helped in mentoring our mother on different ways to include us in her practice and guide us in her beliefs, bur in truth Z (that is the mentor) really ended up taking over a huge majority of our spiritual upbringing herself, as well as teaching us about independence, autonomy, and the development of ethics and a moral compass.

When I moved out on my own at 16, I took those beliefs I had been raised with along with me into my independent life, and Z encouraged me to adjust my practices to fit what felt right for me.   The first thing I dropped was deity, as the god and goddess part of things never really felt right to me.

From there my personal practice was born.  I already had a vast amount of experience and knowledge in spellcraft and rituals, and I took that forward with me into my path and practice, weeding out the things that didn’t work for me, and planting the seeds for those things that did fit.

For this reason, although sixteen years have passed since I’ve been under my parent’s roof, there are still traces of Wicca and Buddhism in my practice.   These lingering bits and pieces are those things that still “fit”.

Morning Bonus Read – Self Care vs Slacking Off

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This last week, several people had a conversation in general-chat about how to tell if an action is self care or laziness/avoidance. Time to take that question to our divination tools!”

Colliding Crowns Fantasy Playing Cards

What self care is needed in my life?

Some focus on miserly behavior and building up my foundation (Four of Diamonds) financially when it comes to new money coming in (Ace of Diamonds). This is based in your need for stability, which requires a steady foundation beneath your feet.  Do not allow self destructive urges and bad habits to steer you from this need hat is a basic part of your make up.

What difficult actions am I avoiding or procrastinating on?

See above in the self care that is needed. When your foundation is unsteady, your anxiety is given free reign (Nine of Spades) which creates an instability that quickly leads down the road to chaos (Joker).  All those little flutterings of anxiety you’ve felt over the past week or so?  This is the root of that rise within you.  Stop procrastinating and deal with it before it blows up in your face.

What action do I think is self care but is actually avoidance?

Not using your time wisely by spending it in unproductive ways with others (Three of Hearts).  You can’t create a stable home that way, no matter how much you enjoy relaxing in their company (Four of Clubs). Using them to ignore your problems fixes nothing and only allows these issues to grow in the background while you are distracting yourself.

What action do I think is avoidance but is actually self care?

Getting entangled within creative endeavors to the point that your focus and drive glimmer like a flame in the center of the creative process (Queen of Clubs) allows you a healthy way to avoid useless conflict (Five of Clubs) you don’t need to get wrapped up in anyway.  It’s okay to lose yourself in that creative process sometimes.  It’s good for you.

DECK USED: COLLIDING CROWNS FANTASY PLAYING CARDS

Weekly Creativity Prompt – My Summer

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Pull (at least) three cards use them as the foundation to convey your ‘summer experience’ thus far for this year.

Tarot manouche Universel du XXIe SiecleThe Devil – I’ve played it a bit fast and loose as I expanded my deck collection this spring and summer, especially in the area of my playing card decks. It’s not as if I didn’t have the money to do so, though, and although it’s time to reign myself in now, it was a nice bit of escapism for a while.

Wheel of Fortune – Despite my spending, things haven’t been all -that- bad so far this summer.  There’s been a good bit of ups and downs, and I’ve spent a lot of time working on finding my center and keeping my balance as chaos reins in the world around me, but most of the upheavals (other than the major global one anyway) have been somewhat minor and only created ripples instead of waves on the smooth surface of my life.

The Hierophant – Over the spring and summer, I’ve rediscovered my great joy for teaching others, as well as providing them with guidance and help even beyond the tarot.  I’ve very much enjoyed the opportunity to teach others and learn from them in turn, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do so, even if I’ve taken a little break from teaching formal classes over June and July.

DECK USED:  TAROT MANOUCHE UNIVERSEL DU XXIe SIECLE BY SANDRA JAYAT

New Moon in Cancer – July 2020

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New Moon in Cancer Tarot Reading July 2020

Yesterday was the new 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. How can I bring more balance to my home?

Queen of Pentacles – Be a more approachable “authority figure” in my home.  Authority figure isn’t really the right term, but I’m also not really a fan of the term “provider”.  But what it comes down to is being more approachable.  Less stiff and stringent. You can hold things together and keep things on track without holding yourself apart.

2. What old family beliefs need to be healed?

Queen of Wands – You have to be “on” all the time.  Always moving forward, always heading towards goals that are set and just beyond your reach like a carrot that dangles before the jackass.  These goals are passions, but they are always unobtainable other than through hard work and staying on task.  Like a queen on a throne you strive to please but will never truly touch.

3. What old family patterns need examining?

Ten of Swords and Five of Cups – Neglect breeding a feeling of defeat. It’s time to consider you just are not going to get the nurturing you need from those you would expect to get it from.  It’s okay to outsource that nurturing and guidance into other areas of your life and other trusted resources… you do not have to be bereft.

4. How can I be a more impactful community member?

The Hierophant – You’re on that track.  Just keep doing what you love concerning the communities you choose to be a part of.  Guide others to finding the path that is right for them, and learn from them in turn on ways to improve yourself.  You can’t teach without learning along the way, and in this small way you send ripples out into the world that helps make your community and the world a better place… just one tiny bit at a time.

DECK USED:  THE ANIMISM TAROT

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 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 like this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next few weeks, I would do one (or a few at a time) for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts and work through them a bit at a time.

Otter

I can’t remember how many of these I’ve done so far, but I have a whole list still to go!  So here’s prompt #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?

I actually don’t work with animal spirits outside of using animal decks in my divination practice.   I don’t feel comfortable working with them, because it feels like if i were to work with the Fae.  As if I’m using them.

My moral compass says that using them in this way is not okay.  At least, not for me.  Animal spirits, like the Fae, are my friends.  I don’t use my friends… so I wouldn’t use animal spirits.

That said, I might seek advice from them, and there are certain animal spirits / animal energies that I feel a close connection to such as the sea turtles and both river otters and sea otters.  This doesn’t negate the connection that I feel to a lot of other animal energies, but those are the ones I am drawn to the strongest.

I also like bears… although that isn’t really so much something that I connect with personally, as that they just make me happy.