Balance In All Things

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Pastel Rider Waite Smith Tarot - Two of PentaclesThe @GlitterbyInk #AprilFinds25 Challenge
Lost and Found Prompt for April 12 : Creativity

Today’s draw is the Two of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of juggling responsibilities, work/life balance, and prioritization.

I struggle with balance. Work vs life balance. Action vs stagnancy balance. Introvert vs social responsibilities balance. Good foods vs bad foods balance.

It always feels more like juggling than a form of balancing scales, and like it’s far more effort than it feels like it should.

In my life, creativity is one of these places that I also struggle with balance. I have a tendency to sink into creative projects. When my creative spark is flaring, the rest of the world has a tendency to fade away. All attention… all focus trains on this one thing to the detriment and neglect of everything else.

Today’s prompt of “creativity” combined with the Two of Pentacles is a reminder that balance is necessary. Too much focus on non-creative things smothers the creative spark. By the same turn, too much sinking into the flow of creativity will result in the withering or running astray of other aspects in life. Balance is needed.

DECK USED:  PASTEL RIDER WAITE SMITH TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompt for April 12th and 14th :

The Herbal Tea Magic for the Modern Witch OracleWhat kind of person do you truly want to become?

Yerba Mate – You want to become an original soul that is able to offer good advice when needed, and has collected a small group of trusted long-term friendships.

Revisit This – Cornflower

Reconnect with your “know thyself” focus. Only you can truly know how you work and how your body, intuition, senses, and outside input interact to communicate with you. This “language” is unique to you personally, and can only be learned through personal exploration and creative thinking.

Steer Clear of This – Passionflower

If you go soft in the wrong places you will be perceived by others as weak and an easy target. Make sure you are being tenacious in your values and boundaries. Remember that it’s important to not hold too tightly to what helps support your climb toward the sun, or you might smother it in the process.

A New Way Forward – Fennel

Start steering your tea intake toward treating your IBS symptoms. When your stomach feels better, everything else feels better too. Treat your body wit the kindness it needs to feel better.

Other elements included in this reading:
Raw Amazonite for Self Awareness and Facing Truths
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE HERBAL TEA MAGIC FOR THE MODERN WITCH ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I haven’t been feeling well the past few days and, as this is a catch up post, I can’t remember what my self-kindness was for today.  I know that I slept a lot, though.

🌕 Full Moon in Libra – April 2025

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Today is 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 courtesy of @moonandcactus.

Libra Full Moon Oracle Reading with l'Oracle de l'Or et de l'Encre

With each breath, I release the weight of imbalance and return to my sacred center.
How can I use this time to address any relationship imbalances?

Homme – Acknowledge your place in the lives of others as a leader and authority figure, and work on better understanding that these aspects don’t need to be sharp or harsh. You don’t have to be so stiff all the time; kindness and warmth can also be aspects of this role.

I honor the truth within my heart while holding space for the truth of others.
Where in my life am I being encouraged to release grudges and foster forgiveness at this time?

Évolution – Look closely at the relationships in your life that are currently in a state of flux. Address any old resentments and grudges that are weighing down the change that is trying to develop right now.

In stillness, I become the harmony I seek.
At this time, what practices can I engage in that promote inner peace?

Passage – Remember that right now the veil is thin, as we at a counterpoint to Mabon and Samhain. Pay attention to liminal spaces and visit them to get in touch with that sense of “welcome home” that they can often provide you.

What spring activity (such as redecorating, getting a new hair cut, or indulging in creative arts) should I take time to explore right now?

Amitié – Connect with friends instead of holding yourself apart. Dip into their worlds and spend time with them there, instead of always expecting them to come to you.

Full Moon advice from the Minoan Goddess Amalthea.

Excès – Pay attention to those places where you are slipping into excess, and reign things in by balancing your addictive tendencies with a healthy dose of moderation.

Other elements in this reading…
Goat Figurine as Sympathetic Representation of Amalthea
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: L’ORACLE D’OR ET D’ENCRE

Balancing Hope and Practicality

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the #DailyCalm sessions in the @Calm app.

Today’s session was called “Breath; in three acts” and took the listener through an activity where you observe the breath for a full minute, counting how many breaths you take within that 60 seconds in time.   Then, for the “second act”, you take a full minute where you control your breathing to take full, deep breaths slowly in and out, filling your lungs all the way full with each inhale, then slowly easing the breath out on the exhale.  Then, for the “third act” you do another minute where you breathe naturally and count your breaths again for the full 60 seconds.

The notation is that you take less breaths in the third act than you did in the first, demonstrating that in having taken time to do some deep breathing, it helps ease your central nervous system and thus your breath and your body as a whole.      For me in this session, the difference was 10 breaths in the first act, and 6 breaths in the third act.

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Soul Creatures Tarot - Seven of Cups - Will o' the WispThe @GlitterbyInk #AprilFinds25 Challenge
Lost and Found Prompt for April 11 : Hope

Today’s draw is the Seven of Cups (Will o’ the Wisps), which is traditionally a representation of themes having to do with having a plethora of options to choose from, all of opportunity’s doors being open upon one’s path, and at times being overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available in the moment.

The message in today’s card when combined with the prompt of “hope” is to remember not to let hope overshadow your good sense.

Hope is an integral part of being human, but its important to balance hope with practicality, especially when making important decisions.  If we don’t stay in touch with practicality and common sense during these times, hope can lead us astray into the land of unrealistic expectations.  This, in turn, can cause us to make bad choices when there are better ones on offer to us.

Don’t get me wrong. Hope is important. The key is in balancing it with unbiased practicality (not to be mistaken for negativity or pessimism, which are not unbiased), so that we don’t end up lead astray.

DECK USED: SOUL CREATURES TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompt for April 11 : What do you need to focus on for self-care for this month’s full moon?

Éclosion l'OracleReading Summary: It’s time to take a look at your trapped (enfermement) shadows (ombre) in a new light (évolution).

Take Away:  You (and to be fair, many) view shadow work as something that’s a trial, sometimes a trial through fire.  Hard and painful, an uphill slog through difficult emotional and psychological terrain.

Shadow work does not always have to be difficult, though. Sometimes it just means setting free to let breathe a part of yourself that you have been hiding from the world.

Owning a part of yourself as you own your mistakes and flaws, instead of judging that part of yourself so harshly and trying to pretend it doesn’t exist.  Looking inward with honesty doesn’t have to be torturous or painful.  It just means being honest with yourself, no matter what.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Maple Leaves for Adaptability and Connection
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Cedar Heart with Feather Moss Sprout for Protection of Understanding
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ÉCLOSION L’ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I spoke with Gid about how I was feeling and what I was worrying about concerning new writing characters we were working on creating, rather than keeping it to myself as I wanted to do. It turns out I was misinterpreting his creative block as something it wasn’t.

Gideon’s Challenge

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Sinclair InletThe Lost

I long for vibrancy
inhaled
through breath
to fill the lungs
and soak
through the soul
like oxygen
dispersed
through the blood
but clouds of gray
cover the sky
and the
water’s surface
can’t shimmer
and neither can
my unshed tears

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Defensiveness and Fear

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Forest Realm Tarot - Nine of SwordsThe @GlitterbyInk #AprilFinds25 Challenge
Lost and Found Prompt for April 10 : Regret

Today’s draw is the Nine of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of nightmares, anxiety, insomnia, and negativity in one’s thoughts and inner narratives.

How high are your walls? How defensive are you to advice or suggestions that you immediately jump to taking them as criticism or cruelty?

When we misinterpret others input in these ways, we push people away and keep them at arms length. They didn’t have to take the time to bother with you, but did. Why? Could it be because they care either about you, or about the end results of something that you also care about?

If so… why push them away in such a manner when they could instead prove useful or of value to you in the long run?

Today’s Nine of Swords encourages us to not hold people at a distance just because of feelings of unwarranted fear or defensiveness.  You could end up regretting it in the end if you do.

DECK USED:  FOREST REALM TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompts for April 7th and 8th

Oracle Reading with The Flower Speaks OracleWhat is your greatest weakness?

Lady’s Mantle – Self-forgiveness and self-compassion are themes that you find difficult to connect with, let alone act on.

How can you release/relieve this weakness?

White Clover – Continue to work at focusing on a more optimistic viewpoint and practicing those things that further this lean into positivity. Activities such as your meditation, connecting with gratitude, and focusing on the present to savor the moment and those things within it can help you to connect more effectively with themes of self-forgiveness and self-compassion.

What is your greatest worry?

Sage – Your greatest worry is that you will miss the signs of approaching trouble, and thus give that trouble an “in” to disrupt your life and your sense of stability.

How can you release/relieve this worry?

Stem – Sometimes protection is less about vigilance and more about the energy you project. If you project the energy of a victim or an easy target, you will be made the victim. On the other hand, when you project strength, you warn off danger even in times when you may not see it coming.

What is your greatest fear?

Black Iris – Your greatest fear is  in being helpless during difficult struggles that escalate from a time of organic change that even though difficult is not destructive, into a full-on mass destruction type of chaotic change.

How can you release/relieve this fear?

Black Cohosh – Allow yourself to accept that changes (even the destructive chaotic ones that feel like the end of the world) are a natural part of life, and something that we all must go through again and again as a part of life’s cycles. Focus on what comes after the end, instead of the end itself.

Other elements included in this reading:
Cedar Smoke Cleansing Bundle for Protection
Foraged Pin Oak Leaf for Strength and Endurance
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Foraged Norway Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Aventurine Goddess for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite Tree of Life Disk for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE FLOWER SPEAKS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I rested today instead of doing a full orders day in an effort to kick out this cold or whatever it is before it can actually take hold. I’m not sure how well it worked yet, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot of rest.

Know When to Walk Away

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Wisdom of the Depths Tarot - Eight of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #AprilFinds25 Challenge
Lost and Found Prompt for April 9 : Trust

Today’s draw is the Eight of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of withdrawal, abandonment, or letting go of things, situations, or people in your life that are just not working out for you emotionally.

Trust your gut to know when it’s time to walk away is the message offered in today’s card.

Casinos are the bane of my existence.  They are one of those places that I’m “required” to visit now and then for the enjoyment of others in my life, but that I personally despise.

To me, they are the land of overstimulation and desperation that I must wade through while watching again and again as people “win big” and then lose it all. Sometimes within minutes.

The message in today’s Eight of Cups is a reminder of that addictive cycle between ego and despiration. It says… Don’t be greedy. You aren’t invincible. Know how to walk away while you’re still on top.

DECK USED:  WISDOM OF THE DEPTHS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Philosophical Questions for April 2nd and 9th

Gentle Chaos OracleWhat does it mean to live a good life?

The Wedding Day Roses and The Ocean – To live a good life is to love well and often, with an inconceivable vastness; so that when we look back on our lives at the end of it, we see a great sea of love stretching out into the past.

Is personal growth required to live a good life?

The Path and The Moon Pie – Personal growth is part of living as a whole, touching us on each step of our path while still allowing us to retain bits of our past along the way.So, no, personal growth is not required to live a good life, but instead is simply an inevitable part of living.

Other elements included in this reading:
Small Scallop Shell for Connecting to One’s Emotions
Aragonite for Fostering Truth, Understanding, and Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: GENTLE CHAOS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I have felt exhausted and run down all day today.  I’ve tried resting and have begun taking Cold FX to help boost my immune system, as I’m starting to wonder if I might be coming down with something.