Gideon’s Challenge – Getting Lost

Sunset Rays

Getting Lost

Let’s slip away
off the dock
and into the skiff
tied and waiting
slip the knot
as tide shifts
and let ourselves
be carried
away
lost in each other
to become
a part of
the evening’s
golden glow

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Not Mutually Exclusive

Today’s meditation was (yup, you guessed it) skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 13th
: Healing
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Wild Eden Tarot - King of Wands

Today’s draw is the King of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions, drive, determination, principles, values, and willpower. The King of Wands often indicates themes that have to do with leadership figures or authority figures with the ability to rally others to their causes and draw them in to their own values, principles, and passions.

Self healing is a process that takes time, and can be done in conjunction with other things we need to put our focus on.

Don’t delay your goals and desires in deference to your healing journey, and don’t delay your healing journey in order to strive toward your goals and desires. Instead, make your journey of healing a companion to all the other things you want to do.

This doesn’t mean that there won’t be times along the way where one or the other won’t have to briefly take your full focus, just as there’s going to be times where you have to pause and rest. The fact is, though, that it’s rare to focus on one thing at a time, one journey at a time. or one project or interest at a time. Learning how to combine the things that are important to us so that we can take them with us on our path through life means multitasking is a part of the process.

The message in today’s King of Wands combined with the “healing” prompt is a reminder that your goals and aspirations don’t supersede your need for self-care and healing. Instead of trying to prioritize other things over your needs, seek out ways in which to combine them so that you can give yourself the care and healing you need… as you work toward your goals and reach for your aspirations.

DECK USED: WILD EDEN TAROT

@de_tarotjuf’s Love Is All We Need Challenge
#detarotjuffebruaritarotchallenge
Prompt for February 13th
: What is a consequence I’ve experienced because of my choices in love?

Tarot Reading with the Kamasutra Tarot

Reading Summary – You’ve discovered that while not everyone is right fit for you (Six of Wands Rx), that when you do find the right fit you go all in with both your emotions (King of Cups) and your passionate nature (King of Wands).

Take Away – So what exactly -is- the consequence of that “right fit” and going in fully with your emotions and your passions? It’s that Gideon has essentially ruined me for anyone else that might’ve ever come along.

When you have it this good… good enough that you dive in with your whole heart and soul, nothing else could ever compare. You feel as if everything has been tailored just for you, fitting perfectly in all the right places on all the different levels that matter.

Finding that once in a lifetime? That’s called a miracle. Finding it twice? I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.

This is why he has to live forever, or at least as long as I do.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Rose Petals for Connecting with Love and Romance
Turtle Figurine for encouraging Slow and Steady Progress
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: KAMASUTRA TAROT

@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 11th

Tarot Reading with the Wild Eden Tarot and We the Wild Oracle

What I need more reassurance around

Self-Care, The High Priestess, Messy – You are so used to ignoring your own needs (or outright forgetting about them) that you have a tendency to overlook your inner messages that are trying to inform you in this area. You miss when your body, mind, or spirit try to speak up and tell you what you need most.

As a result, you dip into moments of “messy” where you feel flustered and out of sorts without there seeming to be a reason. At these times, you require reassurance that self-care isn’t a luxury, and neither are your needs.

Where or how to seek out those reassurances

Perspective, Six of Swords, Curious – Make it a game… like Marco Polo at the pool. Close your eyes and listen closer, rather than leaning into the surface level awareness, then allow your curiosity to trigger so that you follow what you hear calling to you.

This takes both curiosity and trust. You have to be willing to turn over a new life and -try- to hear your inner voice better, rather than just shrugging off what its asking for as you normally try to do.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: WILD EDEN TAROT AND WE THE WILD ORACLE DECK
Daily Self Kindness

I expressed my vulnerability through time in play with Gideon today.

Gideon’s Challenge – Helleborus

Hellbore Flowers in February

Helleborus

Color returns
with little
primrose flowers
and great big
hellebore blooms
that turn away
from the sky
but reach upward
to the clouds
as leaves
unfurl
and petals fill
with the
first blush
of Spring

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Seeking Help Isn’t a Bad Thing

Today’s meditation was skipped… again.

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The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 12th
: Grief
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Tarot from the World Behind the Veil - The Hierophant

Today’s draw is The Hierophant card, which is traditionally a representation of traditions, spiritual guidance, long standing institutions, teachers and guides, and themes that deal with conformity and social norms.

Seek help when grief feels heavy.

Over the past few years, I have watched a very close friend going through her grief over losing her husband of 40 years. Sometimes it feels like she has made no progress at all. Her depression lingers and she seems to vacillate between a loss of will to live and anger.

I can’t help but wonder; if she hadn’t rejected all efforts to try and help her through her grief, would she be in a better place right now? I think she would.

And yet, convincing her to go speak with someone qualified to help her in this area is impossible. It doesn’t matter that she knows that I go for depression and has seen how much therapy has helped me. It doesn’t matter that I take medication and she has seen how much that has helped me too. Her refusal isn’t even finance related, as her insurance would cover 100% of her visits. She doesn’t want the help, as if she’s punishing herself over and over again every day.

It hurts those around her, but instead of that spurring her into getting help, she just writes that off as one more reason that she shouldn’t be alive anymore.

The message in today’s cards is that there are people that can help you with your grief, and if you have the opportunity or ability to use them, please do so. They really can help if you’re willing to reach out to them.

I also need to hear to this message, because I am struggling under the grief that came with the shift in my business last Fall, and with it a loss of stability that I had in my life which is no longer there.

DECK USED: TAROT FROM THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 2 | Entry 4 – Love and Relationships
Affirmation
: “I seek relationships where I feel seen without judgment.”
Prompt : Think about a belief or situation where you feel unfairly criticize or misunderstood. What is something you wish others knew about you? Draw a card to guide your reflection on this and consider how you can better communicate this to others in your life.

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Neko Atsume Tarot - The Moon card

What feelings came up when I pulled this card?

I felt that brief millisecond of confusion that indicates this card and its answer are of the “it’s a thinker” variety, instead of something that just pops in into my awareness through intuition.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

The “situation” I chose for this prompt was the topic of my deck collection, and how when people discover the size of my collection, I get a huge array of different reactions in response.

The Moon card is all about uncertainty and illusion. Its appearance made me question why I should feel uncertainty in this area. I’m not denying that I do, I just don’t understand why.

It turns out, after some time to consider, that the uncertainty isn’t focused so much on my collection at all, which I enjoy immensely, but rather on other people’s opinions and/or my perception of their opinions or judgements.

Am I perceiving judgments from others where there aren’t any? Why would that even matter?

What in the artwork spoke to me?

They’re all cats. The Moon, the one that emerges from the water (which is usually a crustacean), the calico on the left and the black cat on the right. All cats. This speaks to me of all of us being human. That means that there is no pat answer or opinion, because everybody has their own reactions from admiration to envy, from wonder to disgust.

There is no one answer, and there is no right answer. Just as all of us in humanity are diverse, so too will be the reactions to my collection of decks.

My prompt response and reflections.

I struggle with how to behave in social situations, primarily because my life is a child was so isolated from society, and my introverted nature meant that continued to be the case as I grew up and became an adult. This means that sometimes I have to look to others in order to figure out what a proper response is or what “correct” behavior is. This is a part of my learning journey when it comes to my emotions, because all of the uncertainty in this area is wrapped up in my emotions.

Because I look to others for cues on how to behave in social situations, sometimes I put too much weight into places it doesn’t belong… like their personal opinion concerning things that shouldn’t matter to them.

My collection is fucking magnificent. I enjoy it a great deal. I shouldn’t have to make excuses for it, even if other people seem to want me to at times or that little kid inside me seeking approval says I do. That validation and approval needs to come from within myself, not from others who, if they are judging me harshly based on my collection, clearly don’t have the same values as I do in the first place.

Other elements included in this reading:
Green Aventurine D20 and D6 Gemstone Dice

DECK USED: NEKO ATSUME TAROT

@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 12th

Tarot Reading with the Tarot from the World Behind the Veil and Japanese Gods & Spirits Oracle

How I show care to myself

Knight of Coins, Toppashin, The Chariot – You slow down to take things at a slower pace, while leaning upon the guidance of others to help keep you on track.

This is a new practice that you’ve been working on over the past year, as well as accepting that that slower pace (as well as asking for help) is okay.

How I can improve in this area

Three of Coins, Ten no Kami, Justice – Keep in mind that helping you helps them turn, so by allowing them to help more you are creating a greater balance between you and them; not (as it sometimes feels like) accruing a debt.

There is no give or take, only togetherness created through mutual caring and sharing in each other’s needs, burdens, and desires.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT FROM THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL AND JAPANESE GODS & SPIRITS ORACLE
Daily Self Kindness

I worked on catching up on blog posts today. I’ve fallen behind over the past week. (Essentially? This means that I took the photos and sometimes even edited them, did the readings, took the notes… but haven’t proofread/fleshed out the results into anything that anyone other than I could read and understand.)

Gideon’s Challenge – Grounding

More Rain Clouds

Grounding

Rainy days
refresh the soul
as roots in soil
drink deep
and feed the green
with each drop
that falls
and as I lie
in the grass wet and
breathing deep
with my roots
in the soil…
I am fed too

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Subjectively Bad

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #FebYOUary26 Moments & Memories Challenge
Prompt for February 11th
: Revelation
Daily Mental Health Prompt
: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Radiant Tarot - Five of Cups

Today’s draw is the Five of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of pessimism, regrets, doomsday thinking, disappointments, and occasionally, failure (or at the very least, the perception of failure).

Even if you don’t like the rain, it’s what keeps the plants alive and the forest green.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, which gets a lot of rain. Not only that, but I live in the rainiest part of the Pacific Northwest, which means we get an extra lot of rain.

Many people move here because the forests are beautiful and we have a rugged and breathtaking coastline. And I agree, I feel that this part of the world is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in pictures or in person.

That said, although lots of people move here for the beauty of nature? Nearly just as many move away because once they’ve been here for a while, they start to suffer from seasonal affective disorder and other depression related symptoms. Why? Because we don’t get as much sunshine as they’re used to. Instead, we get rain. Lots and lots of rain. And with the rain comes overcast skies, and lots of gray days.

It’s all that rain that gives this place its beauty, for without it, our forests would not be green year-round. The evergreens would die, and all of the dripping moss and lichen would disappear.

Interestingly, while others struggle with lack of sunshine and it affects their mood in negative ways, I have the opposite problem. I struggle when there is not enough rain and too much sunshine.

The message in today’s Five of Cups combined with the “revelation” prompt is a reminder that not everything can be “toughed out”. It’s okay to appreciate the beauty, or simplicity, or wonderfulness of something or someone, and yet not be able to live with that particular thing or person in your own life. Bringing those things to light that you can’t handle or tolerate doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you have good boundaries and know what you need.

Just remember that not being able to have something in your own life or being unable to agree with something doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad or wrong. It may just not be right for you.

DECK USED: THE RADIANT TAROT

@ambitiouslyalexa’s February Journal Prompts
Prompt for February 11th

Tarot Reading with the Jolanda Tarot

A boundary that would make life easier

Eight of Wands and Three of Cups – Don’t let others rush you into things that you would be better off not participating in. Sometimes when others are enthusiastic or they’re trying to get you to agree to something, they use impatience or a sense of urgency in order to drag you along with them. Just like a barker insisting that the availability of something is extremely limited (when in fact they actually have overflowing warehouses of the stuff).

It’s important to realize when this is happening, and not allow yourself to be carried off into whatever their agenda is by these machinations.

How best to go about establishing this boundary

Queen of Swords and Five of Swords – Keep a kindly face to the problem and the person, even as you apply your stubbornness to come out on top of the situation. It’s in awareness of what is going on that you can catch and dissuade this type of behavior from them.

When you dissuade this type of manipulation, it then creates a president for you to do it again and again going forward. Just make sure that you’re tackling the issue with kindness instead of becoming sharp tongued or harsh with them.

Other elements included in this reading:
Carved Jade Japanese Kitsune for fostering Wisdom and Cunning
Foraged Purple Heather Sprigs for Independence and Luck
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: JOLANDA TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2026 Challenge
Philosophical Prompt for February 11th
: Does love necessitate action, or can it exist simply as a feeling?

Tarot Reading with The Radiant Tarot

Reading Summary – Love often has a tendency to push us towards action (Six of Pentacles), but because people often long for love while feeling undeserving of it (Five of Pentacles), the actions that love spur within are often thwarted (Eight of Swords).

Take Away – These cards say that love does not necessitate action. It inspires action, but doesn’t necessitate it.

Instead, sometimes it just is. Existing within us while other factors hold us back, whether those factors internal or external. Unexpressed love or unrequited love is still love, even if the person feeling that emotion never does anything about it.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE RADIANT TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day since I didn’t write it down at the time.