Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

Weekly Creativity Prompt – A Walk in the Woods

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Prompt: Imagine a walk (or remember your last walk). Draw between 3 – 5 cards from your deck. Then for each card, associate the card to something you saw on your walk. Share your card(s), and your reasoning behind the associations that you made with each card you pulled.

Tarot Manouche Universel du XXIè Siècle

Acorn – La Protectrice (The Empress) – She holds within her the burgeoning promise of new life. Fallen and upon the earthen floor, she bathes in the dappled light cast between softly rustling leaves and whispers of the secrets that grow within her belly that will soon take root… and grow.

Squirrel – Le Fou (The Fool) – He bounds from branch to branch with curiosity and enthusiasm, chittering in the trees with a merry voice that celebrates his eager task. There is quickness and cheer in every movement, even in the moments he moves with purpose.

Douglas Fir Cone – La Force (Strength) – There is an old legend in the Pacific Northwest (believed to be of indigenous origins) about the Douglass Fir that speaks of a large fire in the forests of the west. Many animals ran around frantically trying to escape the flames. Tiny mice, not fast enough to outrun the fire, sought shelter from various trees. The mice approached many trees asking for help and were turned away again and again. When they eventually approached a mighty Douglas Fir tree and asked if they could take shelter among its branches, the Douglas fir agreed to help the mice, and allowed them to hide within its cones. As a result, the mice survived the fire, and to this day, if you examine a Douglas Fir cone, you can see the tails of the mice sticking out between the scales of a cone.

Stream – La Sagesse (The High Priestess) – Water flows and explores. It seeps into crevices and slips into cracks, soaks and saturates even as it flows ever onward. It spreads beneath the soil, showing only a small bit of what truly runs ever onward, while so much is hidden beneath the earth where none can see.  Water holds many secrets, and flows ever onward.

Fallen Log – La Mort (Death) – Decay is the birth of new life as a fallen log lies within shaded forest floor and begins to break down. This tree that dies, fallen and lies, now offers itself up to the forest and the promise of new life. A nurse log. And as structure breaks down it provides shelter and nutrients, seeds take root, while mushrooms and moss grow from slowly forming crevices and holes. As life fades… so too does it flourish once more. One form transforming to make another.

DECK USED: TAROT MANOUCHE UNIVERSEL DU XXIè SIÈCLE

Finding the Fire Within – Part 4

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The Nursmaid's 36 Tales Lenormand

How can I be my true self during conflict?

Broom and Bear – Instead of beating yourself up and allowing that negative self talk to tear you down, stand up strong and true for your beliefs and your opinions.

How can I integrate courage into my authentic self journey?

Clover and Star – Positive thinking is needed.  You know it works and can lead you in to better things, so as corny as it might sound and as much as you struggle with it… it’s important and can lift you up when you need that extra boost of courage.

How does my integrity and values influence my authentic self?

Lily and Fish – You are old far beyond your years, with the wisdom behind that age you have yet to come close to reaching. Allowing that “old soul” within you to lead you forward keeps you true to yourself each step along your path.

What will be the biggest challenge through this journey?

Clouds and Snake – Self doubt.  You are your own worst enemy.  Combined with your proclivity towards self destructive behavior, it’s the biggest challenge you will face.

How can I inspire others to discover and express their authenticity?

Fox and House – Just care for them and be supportive of them. By giving them the support they need and giving them a place of safety to explore, you are fostering their own journey of self discovery.

Self-Care – Birds – Don’t skip out on the phone appointments this week.  You know you want to, but do them anyway. They’re important.

DECK USED: THE NURSEMAID’S 36 TALES LENORMAND

Morning Bonus Read – Appreciation

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“The weather may be getting cooler or bringing in some mighty storms wherever you are and for some of us, it gives us joy, but not for all of us. Today, we will discover and give a little appreciation to ourselves. This is a short prompt, enjoy some TLC after!”

Bicycle Sewer Dwellers Playing CardsWhere in my mind am I feeling my best? Why?

Nine of Hearts and Seven of Spades – I’m feeling at peace and content in my mental health because I managed to dodge a bullet with the medication adjustment I did at the last MDE onset.

What familiar comfort can connect me more closely with how my mind is feeling?

Nine of Spades atop Two of Clubs – These cards are a reminder that I now know what the medication adjustment can do and, when I detect another onset coming in the future, I can use this again at that time.

Where in my body am I feeling my best? Why?

Ten of Clubs and Ace of Clubs – I’ve made leaps and bounds this year at the new strategy in not overwhelming myself with too much on my plate at once, and thus managing to avoid the resulting cycle of burn out.

What familiar comfort can connect me more closely with how my body is feeling?

Three of Clubs – Keep doing what I’m doing. It’s working and it’s a healthier choice than what I was doing before. Make it familiar and routine, a permanent part of my path going forward.

Where in my energy am I feeling my best? Why?

King of Hearts – Although it never feels like enough, I’m getting the support that I need in my relationship to keep my energy uplifted. When everything else feels like it goes to shit, I am drawn to Gideon like a moth to a flame. He helps me get out of my own head, find peace, and reminds me that I am loved.

What familiar comfort can connect me more closely with how my energy is feeling?

Ten of Hearts – Don’t forsake the positive place that this energy provides. The security of knowing I am loved, and that he’s not going anywhere, is something worth not just acknowledgment, but a good amount of wallowing in.

Where in my true self am I feeling my best? Why?

Six of Hearts and King of Diamonds – I am starting to find a new level of peace with my past and look at it in a more positive manner. This has been brought about by the realization that I need to create a more compartmentalized view of the past and the present, a discovery that I made earlier this year and I’ve been processing ever since.

What familiar comfort can connect me more closely with how my true self is feeling?

Ten of Diamonds atop Ace of Spades – Sink into the new sense of stability that this realization has created. I’ve always been hyper-fixated on building increasingly more stability and security in my life. This new realization has allowed me to enjoy what I’ve built and be comfortable instead of being driven to always do more.

DECK USED: BICYCLE’S SEWER DWELLERS PLAYING CARDS

Morning Bonus Read – Libra Season

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Retrospective Tarot - Libra Season Tarot Reading

What needs balancing?

Eight of Coins – You are spending too much time focusing on work. Even in your down time, this is where your mind lingers. You’re not in the busy season quite yet and you need to make sure that you don’t push yourself into it before it’s time.  Six weeks in that demanding physical and mental space is long enough.

How to align your energy?

Three of Wands – Movement. Get yourself outside your burrow and experience the world. You need the fresh air and the exercise, the movement and the time outside.  Get as much of that as you can, while you can.  Soon enough you won’t have time for it (or much of anything else) and you’ll be aching for it.

How to create a better work/life balance?

Knight of Cups – Spend more time pursuing the stuff you enjoy. It’s about having fun and finding the fun in the things you do. At one point you found joy in every aspect of your work, and it’s time to start seeking out that joy once more.

How to find balance and harmony in relationships?

Page of Swords atop Eight of Swords – Learn to identify more quickly when a relationship isn’t working for you and needs to be severed. Cut the cords before they become toxic.

How to find peace and balance in your own heart?

King of Swords and The Tower – Seize control of the chaotic moments of change in your life. Make them yours, and use them as tools to strategize towards something better.

DECK USED: RETROSPECTIVE TAROT

Second Harvest 2021 – Autumn Equinox

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Today is the Autumn Equinox.  This is considered by many to be the first day of Autumn, and is one of only two moments in the year when the sun is exactly above the Equator, and that day and night are of equal length.  Like Halloween is a time when the veil between the land of the living and the realm of the dead is thin, this holiday (as well as its cross-point in the spring) are times when the veil between our world and that of the Fae is at is thinnest… and it is when I personally experience more interactions with them than any other time of year.

harvest

In my path, the Autumn Equinox is also known as the Second Harvest (also called Mabon), and is a day that marks the transition of the growing season into full harvest.  After this day, the darkness of night begins to overtake the sun’s reign in the sky as the days continue to grow shorter and shorter, and the nights longer and longer.  The earth is winding down its abundant generosity and beginning to close up shop for the year.

Like with new moons and full moons, I usually do a spread to check in with myself and give myself some direction for the next couple of months for each solstice, equinox, and other Sabbats. This spread is an adaptation of my Self Care Saturday spread, so there are sure to be  some similarities in how it is read. The focus of this spread, though, is not about Self Care, but rather about progress and my path. The time period is also longer, reaching through the next handful of weeks until the celebration of the upcoming third and Last Harvest of the year (aka. Samhain, Halloween) at the end of October.

Autumn Equinox Tarot Reading for Mabon - Pagan Otherworlds Tarot, Compendium of Witches Oracle, Healing Herbal Cards Vol 1 & 2

Theme of the Season – Mabon, Full Moon, Sweet Violet (Viola Odorata) – As explained above, Mabon is a harvest holiday, and the energy at this time of year is one of transition from growing and abundance, to the bounty of harvesting what has been sown. Now is the time to look at all that we’ve accomplished this year, and examine the lessons we’ve learned.

The Full Moon is a time of peak energy, bright and vibrant as the moon is in the sky, so too does energy peak before waning.  With the harvest season upon us and the full moon having just passed, this is a time when we can use the extra energy and the tapering down of that energy as it wanes over the next couple of weeks to begin to reap our harvests.

Not all magic is flashy and big, and sometimes some of the sweetest and most subtle magic can be the most powerful of all.  This is where Sweet Violets (Viola Odorata) lie in the sphere of herbal magic, with their delicate presence and Fae-like energy, the Viola encourages compassion and care, dispelling disruption and fostering a calm and quiet atmosphere while fostering strength to persevere.

When looking at these three cards together, the theme that I see here is to utilize the energy given through this season wisely.  Don’t waste it, but don’t take it for granted either. It’s important to use this energy to lean into the transitions going on at this time rather than resisting them.

Earth – Ace of Pentacles – You’ve done well at picking and choosing which new opportunities you’ve decided to pursue and foster into growth. Keeping things small is working for you, and will continue to work for you moving forward into this time of transition.

Air – The Magician atop King of Pentacles – You haven’t felt particularly grounded or in control lately, but just whose onus is that on when you have all the tools you need at your disposal? Step into your power, it is waiting.

Water – Five of Cups – You’ve been flirting with a bit of a pity party for yourself of late. It’s time to work on pulling yourself out of that mindset. It’s not helpful and will only get in your way moving forward.

Fire – The Lovers – Echoing back to the Earth position, you have been doing really well at making healthy choices for yourself and your business. Remember that you are going to have to classify certain things in your life as essential daily tasks instead of “when you feel like it” chores. It will help keep you motivated to make sure they happen and aren’t skipped over.

Waning – Memory – Last year around this time of year, you became bogged down with the past.  With your father’s ghost and the echoes of what had come before.  This year, make sure you don’t allow yourself to fall into the same trap as the veil between the spirit world and the physical one begins to thin.

Waxing – Seer – More time in nature is needed. More connection with liminal spaces. More attention paid to your intuition and your spirit guides.  Make sure that you are not allowing other things to get in the way.  You need that connection with the earth and the honed senses, enhanced awareness, and balance that it provides.

Take Away – Transitions and changes are in the air as the harvest season begins, but you still have some time to wallow in the pleasures of the season and the connection with nature and the Fae that this time of year offers you.  Don’t squander it.

DECKS USED:  SOLSTICE ART CARD, PAGAN UNDERWORLDS TAROT, COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES ORACLE, HEALING HERBAL CARDS VOL 1 & 2

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Empress

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Prompt: Pull the Empress from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the Empress in the Tarot of the Hidden realm with the card(s) from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why? Share your card(s) and your interpretation differences between the imagery on the cards.

In comparing these cards you will see that I often see the Empress as being a combination of all four Queens in the tarot.  The energy of these four queens can blend in many different ways, and this is how I ten interpret the different messages and energies within each of the card’s imagery.

The Empress in the Tarot of the Hidden RealmTarot of the Hidden Realm – In this Empress we have the embodiment of inviting warmth and a bountiful harvest.

The autumn shades, the many apples, the earthy tones and blossoms in her hair… it all points to not just the harvest season, but a successful and generous harvest. Her expression is soft and kind, warm and content, the angle of the head promising receptivity and shades of the hair a kiss of warmth.

Open and receptive, I see a good deal of the Queen of Pentacles in this card’s imagery, blended with a touch of the Queen of Wands in her passion to bring to harvest her bounty, and Queen of Cups in the gentle receptivity in her expression.

The Empress in the Tarots Universels, Zero Pop Deck, Tarocchi di Vetro

Tarots Universels – Angular features and the angle of the Empress’ head in this imagery speaks of a sharper energy here. She is more regal and less earthy, leaning more into the energy of the Swords, and perhaps the Wands… whereas the Empress in the Tarot of the Hidden realm leaned heavily into the energy of the Pentacles. This Empress may not own a single houseplant, but she most definitely has your back and will do what needs to be done to support and nurture the growth of her kingdom and her family.

Zero Pop Deck – Miss Jupiter is radiant and warm, approachable and happy.  She has an open smile and soft curves, and a very welcoming demeanor. Her softness and her expression both call out to me the Queen of Cups, while the tilt of her head and body language sing of the Queen of Swords.  This Empress is emotionally supportive, but won’t let you wallow.  She’s hands-on, and she’s going to encourage you to pick yourself up, throw back your shoulders, take a deep breath… and try again.

Tarocchi di Vetro – Graceful and serene, this Empress is filled with an aloof air, but the bounty all around her is undeniable. She’ll listen to your problems and give good advice, and and will save her comfort for when you really need it.  You will never doubt the warmth in her heart or the nurturing in her soul, it’s there in the soft angles of her features and tilt of her head, but nor will you ever take her for anything less than the authority figure that she is.  Out of all the Empress cards covered here in this post, I feel the imagery here most evenly balances the energy of all four queens in the tarot the best.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, TAROTS UNIVERSELS, ZERO POP DECK, TAROCCHI DI VETRO