Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

Samhain Tarot Reading with the Old Whispers Tarot

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Old Whispers Tarot - Samhain Tarot Reading

Death: What is coming to an end in your life?

Ten of Swords – A cycle is coming to an end and the beat to fuck feeling of being unable to move is coming with it.  You will not be stagnant and struggling forever.

Death: What aspect of yourself you no longer are.

Knight of Swords – The time in your life when you foolishly go flying forward into battle with impulsivity at the tip of your blade has come to an end.  You have tasted the forbidden fruit of rest and recuperation, and found a liking for the taste.

Trick: Negative influences getting in your way of letting go.

Five of Wands – The principles of your past and the new ones your establishing are clashing against each other.  Rest vs motivation. Self care vs delving into your work. These conflicting passions are getting in your way.  There is no balance here, only a struggle for dominance. Is balance even possible? Or will you need to pick a side and stand firm?

Treat: Positive influences. Blessings in disguise.

Three of Pentacles atop Five of Cups – You disinterest and dissatisfaction is creating more opportunity for you to work with others instead of taking everything upon your own shoulders. Because you’re not so gung-ho about work, you are less willing to take the full weight of the work and the business on your own.  You reach out to others more, involve them more, and allow them to help rather than pushing them away to do it all yourself.

Cat: Your inner wisdom. The biggest lesson learned this year.

Four of Swords – Rest is important. Recuperation is important.  You need it.  In interspersing time off into each month, you have successfully managed to avoid even a single bout of catastrophic burnout for a full year.

Ghost: What is still haunting you.

Nine of Swords – Your mental health is not at its best. You’re struggling with the edges of cloying depression and can’t seem to shake the clinging tendrils of it.  Perhaps you cut back to your normal dose of meds a little too early when heading off the onset of that last MDE.  Next time try three weeks instead of two.

Spider: The road ahead. The life you are weaving for yourself.

Eight of Wands atop Nine of Cups Rx – The road you are currently on is not a good one. You’ve been neglecting yourself for the past couple of weeks.  Self care has gone down the toilet, and your running on autopilot with the business instead of getting ahead of things a little at a time as you’d planned to do. Continuing on this course will only lead (very quickly) to unhappiness.

Bat: The fear that remains.

Knight of Pentacles – That slow progress is no progress.  Not that you’re making any particular progress at the moment, you’re backsliding. But, as always, you struggle with the concept of slow progress. You need to stop looking at slow progress as having your wings clipped.

DECK USED:  OLD WHISPERS TAROT

Trick Or Treat Creative Writing Prompt

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Prompt: “Halloween is just a week away! This week, draw (at least) three cards from your deck and use them to describe for us a (real or fictional) trick-or-treating outing or adventure.“

Halloween Ephemera TarotDeath atop High Priestess – I had a dream that the bad man was coming, three nights in a row. On the third night, I woke up screaming in bed with mama there beside me trying to wake her up.

Mama convinced me to tell her about my dream and when I did, she got up right away and began packing our clothes into bags.

Strength – I told her I didn’t wanna go, but she convinced me it would be okay.  She told me stories about the places we might go next, and the new friends I would make, and in the end I decided maybe it would be okay.

I helped pack up our stuff that night, and we hopped in the car with our bags in the back and drove off into the night with that old song by the 4 Seasons “Bye Bye Baby” playing on the radio as we drove out of town.

Death (continued) – We settled in a new town and school started.  She was right!  I did meet new friends, and the school is really great with lots of activities my old school didn’t have.

Temperance – I was really excited for Halloween to come, because I hadn’t been allowed to trick or treat for years.  So this year I was going to go out with some friends, and Mama said it was okay as long as I didn’t stray too far.

The Devil – When the night came, I dressed up as my favorite cartoon character and when my friends came we went out to knock on some doors.  It wasn’t scary at all, and I was having a great time! My friends wanted to go over to the next block, and I figured it wouldn’t be any harm, so I agreed.  And that then turned into the next block after that… and the next one after that.

The Devil (continued) atop Hanged Man – As it got later, friends started to break off and head home, and I eventually found myself walking alone, heading back the way I came.  I felt okay until this guy came up behind me and grabbed my arm!  The moment he touched me, I knew he was the bad man from my dreams, even before I turned around to look at him.

Breaking his hold, I started to run away when he called out three words that made me pause.  “I’m your father!” he said.

The news stole the breath from my lungs and I turned to stare at him for what felt like forever.  Then I raced home to Mama to tell her what happened. Time to move again.

DECK USED: HALLOWEEN EPHEMERA TAROT

Dark Fairytale Lenormand Reading

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Dark Fairytale Lenormand Reading - Tea Bats Lenormand

The Dark Fairytale Opens: What marks the prologue of your dark fairytale?

Scythe and Birds – Cruel comments and arguments, confrontations, disagreements with others, and other such communication struggles. This is an echo of my childhood, and the majority of my experiences with my father as I was growing up. These experiences are a part of the reason I am so very careful with my words, further exacerbated by a few similar issues later on in life when I’ve “fumbled” during an inopportune time and created a clusterfuck mess due to miscommunication.

The Curse: What imprisons you & torments you?

Crossroads – Often, when we have a variety of choices and the freedom to choose our path, it can feel like the generous grace of good fortune on our side.  Other times?  That same freedom and plethora of choices available to us can feel overwhelming.  Right now I am in the latter state of mind, and instead of making choices and moving forward, I’m left at the crossroads spinning my wheels in the muck.

The Ghost: What haunts you and tortures you?

Anchor – From the lack of emotional stability provided through my childhood to the lack of stability in life that came after I left that environment, I now find myself in a constant state of scarcity.  This is not reality, but rather an ever-present need for more stability and security.

Bramblewood: What are the dangers that surround you?

Child – I’m not sure if this is a perceived danger or a real one, but what I see in the Child card in this question is my fear that by being irresponsible or by having fun, that I can lose all that I hold dear. The the idea of being helpless is terrifying to me.

The Mirror: What is your deepest fear?

Book – This bleeds into the previous question, for it is through lack of knowledge that we are at our most helpless.  That’s why children are protected.  They haven’t learned all that they need to know yet, and thus their independence is sacrificed for safety while they learn what is needed to keep them safe. Although this is not something I express often, my deepest fear is loss of knowledge.  My deepest fear is being an idiot.  Helpless to take care of myself or “steer my own boat” due to lack of intellect needed for that simple goal.

The Sword of Truth: What will set you free from your dark fairytale?

Rider – Pursue what I want out of life. It is through energy, zeal, and a constant forward movement that I keep on top of my memory loss and cognition issues caused by the accident that damaged so much of my body over fifteen years ago.  Gideon helps me with this a lot, taking me down memory lane again and again, helping me to remember what I lose, helping me strategize new ways to remember what I need to, and building new pathways through the threads of memories to knit them back together when they begin to fray.

Awaken from slumber (Part 1). What grounds you in your reality?

Woman – Those in my life that nurture me.  L, Z, Gideon, J… all of these people are a part of my life in a way that is not just companionship, but also supportive.  They care about me, care -for- me, and help remind me what is important.

Awaken from slumber (Part 2). What makes you invincible?

Moon – My intuition and the guidance of my spirit guides through my intuition’s voice. These skills create an extra layer of knowledge and guidance, assist me in seeing what is needed when I would otherwise be blind and unaware. Also encompassed here is my creativity, which then blends into my adaptability.

DECK USED:  TEA BATS LENORMAND

Cartomancy Reading – Experiences

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows: “Experiences are a part of life, big or small, but what we do next will help us even more.I hope you all have a wonderful week, write this one down! You may need it later. ❤️”

Cartomancy with the Haunted Playing CardsWhat experience(s) am I not allowing myself to have right now?

Seven of Diamonds – Slow moving growth.

Eight of Clubs – Getting anywhere fast.

Four of Spades – Recuperative rest.

Take Away: You are spinning your wheels, neither moving quickly in the things you need to do, nor allowing yourself the slow progress of growth. You are also not getting the rest you need to bounce back stronger. All in all, these cards are saying you are stuck in a moment of stagnancy.

How could I use the answer above to shape my next journey?
Five of Diamonds atop Three of Clubs atop Four of Diamonds atop Ace of Spades

There is a need for stability that is lacking right now, and it has wedged itself between your ambitions and your ability to move forward and take action. This need for stability is bred by your scarcity issues, and the only way you are going to break through it is to force yourself to get moving even though you don’t feel like it.  Put away “what you feel like” and just move your ass anyway.

How might this be beneficial to me? Why?
Ace of Clubs atop Ten of Clubs

You need motivation to push you forward, or the scarcity issues you deal with overtake and make you stall out. Once you get moving and get the ball rolling on what needs to be done, it will get easier.

DECK USED: HAUNTED 8s PLAYING CARDS

A Liminal Time Tarot Reading

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A Liminal Time Tarot Reading - The Infernal Tarot

1. Otherworld – a message from the otherworld

Three of Wands – Get moving. The time for planning has passed.  You need to get your ass in gear and start getting things done.

2. Thinning veil – honoring what is

Four of Wands – Hearth and home. This ties into some other readings you’ve done this week, and the need for a greater amount of gratitude considering all that you have.

3. Final Harvest – gathering nourishment for the soul

King of Swords – Embody the ambition and responsibility that is required of you, and the rest will fall into place.

4. Death – what I’m readying to release

King of Cups – As the holiday rush begins, you will have to release the extra time and attention you’ve been enjoying with Gideon. It sucks, but  you know that’s how it has to be.

5. Transmutation – supporting my cyclical passage

Two of Cups – Let those around you help and support you as you dive into the busy season.  You don’t have to go at it alone.

DECK USED: INFERNAL TAROT

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Autumn Themes

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Prompt: From your deck of choice, select one card that you feel fits each of the themes below (I actually chose randomly):
1) A wander in the Autumn woods
2) Guidance from the Past
3) The Beginning of the End
Post the 3 cards you chose, and share with us how you made the connections that you did with the prompts above.

Omens TarotA Wander in the Autumn Woods

The Sun – As fall arrives and the air cools, I spend more time outside enjoying nature, breathing in the crisp air, and bonding with nature. These experiences light me up from the inside and bring me a great deal of joy and happiness.

Whether hiking in dappled sunlight through a canopy of leaves, or under the rapid pitter-patter of falling rain, this time of year and my time spent in nature is my “Sun” card through and through.

Guidance from the Past

The Hierophant – It is through our past that we become who we are in the present, and it is through our ancestors we are taught the traditions and values that we carry forward into the future.

I may not have the greatest relationship with my family or my parents, but I acknowledge this connection and I understand that even those ancestors that are passed on still walk my path with me today and every day.

The Beginning of the End

The Star – When I  hear the phrase “the beginning of the end” it always brings to mind the moment when hope begins to falter and die.  Whether it’s a story, a legacy, or a life… I feel that hope is an essential part of continuing onward, moving forward, and improving one’s life and self.

What I’ve come to realize is that even when we feel as if there is not a shred of hope left within us?  There is… it’s still there.  Sometimes, its flame just flickers so very faintly that it’s impossible to see when life is at its darkest.

DECK USED: OMENS TAROT