The Importance of Appreciation

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Today’s meditation was skipped. It was sacrificed to a marathon cuddling session with Ms Luna on the bed.

The Wandering Moon Tarot Midnight Sky Edition Nine of Stars (Nine of Pentacles) and It's Going to Be Okay 2024 Day-to-Day Calendar by Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Nine of Stars (Pentacles) combined with the affirmation “Your life is important and worth more than this difficult moment.”

Together, they are a reminder that when things get difficult and it feels like the struggles will never end, that it’s time to look back at all you have accomplished and how far you’ve come. Take the time in these moments that seem so bleak to seek out and enjoy the successes and the “good stuff” you’ve surrounded yourself with instead of sinking into defeatist thoughts.

DECK USED:  THE WANDERING MOON TAROT MIDNIGHT SKY EDITION AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@Lionharts #TheJanuaryTarot 2024 January Initiation Prompt
Question for January 3rd :How can I actively manifest the spirit of a committed start to my 2024 journey?

Animal Healing OracleReading Summary: Stay true to yourself (Skunk) and open to new ideas and creative possibilities (Dog).

Take Away: You have spent a great deal of time closing yourself off over the past year due to circumstance and necessity. It has not just separated you from others, but from your own inspiration and creative spark.

Committing to your 2024 journey will require you to start opening up again, for it’s when you let your inner depths shine that your creative energies flow more smoothly.

DECK USED: ANIMAL HEALING ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2024 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question for January 3rd : Would life lose meaning if we could live forever?

The Wandering Moon Tarot Midnight Sky Edition - Eight of Swords, The Sun, Three of Wands, Queen of Pentacles, Queen of StarsReading Summary: As long as you don’t blind yourself (Eight of Swords Rx) to the positive things in life (The Sun) and lose sight of what success means to you (Queen of Pentacles Rx), then there will always be new adventures to explore (Three of Wands).

Take Away: It is when one allows themselves to become disenchanted and jaded that immortality takes on a sour note. Putting concerted effort into staying open to new things and enjoying what life has to offer can keep life full of meaning no matter how long you live.

DECK USED: THE WANDERING MOON TAROT MIDNIGHT SKY EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I really needed some Miss Luna time today. I spent a good hour and a bit cuddling with her in bed and it was so nice.

Gideon’s Challenge

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Deck ShibariDeck Shibari

I check my mail
and what do I see
but a wonderful gift
waiting for me
A quintet of Lennies
have arrived in the mail
in bubble wrap and tissue
that I eagerly tear
and as ripping ensues
what I find within
takes me by surprise
and makes me grin
Both creative and lovely
each one has been
bound with care
My brain whispers “shibari”
and I just had to share.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Weekly Creativity Prompt – New Years Reflections

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Pull a random card from your deck and decide what aspect of your life this card represents for you.

That’s not what happened, I remember… – Memory issues, and my aversion to looking into the past.

Cast of Characters Cards and Blue Earth Tarot - Queen of Cups, The Empress, Knight of WandsPull three more random cards, and interpret them as goals, aspirations, and/or resolutions related to that aspect of your life represented in the first card.

A Goal – Queen of Cups – Seek out support from those you know are there to steady you emotionally when you try to dip your toes into the waters of the path. There’s a lot of emotional trauma back there that you are avoiding, and being supported by others can help you deal with it.

An Aspiration – The Empress – Healthy, happy, and abundant. You want to feel secure and nurtured. Cared for. Your past has made this feel like an impossible dream, but it should instead be viewed as a goal of self-healing.

A Resolution – Knight of Wands – Commit yourself to exploring and healing these past wounds, instead of buying them and pretending that they don’t exist.

DECKS USED: BLUE EARTH TAROT AND CAST OF CHARACTERS CARDS

Rising From the Ashes

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Daily Calm with the Calm app - Alan Watts quoteToday’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #dailycalm sessions from the Calm app.  It went through a sensory exploration exercise while doing deep breathing, and then afterwards spoke of the 5-Senses technique for helping one calm and ground when anxiety is high.

Essentially, you count down through the five senses.  First you seek out five things you can see, then four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, then one thing you can taste.  It brings you into the present moment, allowing for some space to set aside what might be triggering you or overstimulating you in the moment.

Witch Sister Tarot's Ten of Stones (Ten of Pentacles) and the It's Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Ten of Stones (Ten of Pentacles) combined with the affirmation “Hey, rough months happen. It doesn’t mean the future will all be tiring and painful, too.”  In the illustration for this card we have a crone that appears to have a lot of experience under her belt and, based on the wealth she wears upon her chest, has done very well for herself.  Although craggy looking, she she also appears quite cunning as she winks at us from a place of stability.

Today’s cards are a reminder that struggles happen. December was a big month with a lot going on and a lot of people.  It was tiring and in some ways painful as well.  Now that the new year has come, it’s time to look forward to better things. Take how far you’ve come and look for opportunities to build on your successes, as well as share your experience with others along the way.

DECK USED:  WITCH SISTER TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@Lionharts #TheJanuaryTarot 2024 January Initiation Prompt
Question for January 2nd : What does the universe urge me to work towards this January?

The Divina Serenity OracleManifestation – What do you want to see happen this year? What do you want to manifest in your life? You need to focus on those things now, for it is through slow progress and small steps over time that you create long lasting changes toward those things you want to manifest.

Grace – It can be difficult to move through chaos and moments of struggle with grace. The universe is urging you with this card to work on your responses to unexpected hurdles and move through them with more grace instead of allowing them to trip you up as they have in the past.

Notation: The theme in the illustration on both of these cards is water/sea based. It speaks of the resolution shared with Gideon (your Pisces king) this New Years to spend more time together this year.

DECK USED: THE DIVINA SERENITY ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2024 Challenge Prompt
Question for January 2nd : Pull your most and least favorite cards from your deck and explain why you feel that way.

Note: My choices in this prompt are illustration based, rather than based on the card’s position, suit, or meaning in the tarot as a whole.

Witch Sister Tarot - Queen of Trees, Queen of Wands, Maid of Waters, Page of CupsLeast Favorite – Queen of Trees (Wands) – So many of the illustrations of the people in this deck are rawboned and gaunt, as if each character is malnourished and desperate. In this particular card, there’s not even any background illustration to soften this impression. The figure looks disenchanted, exhausted, and miserable… not at all what I would normally associate with the Queen of Wands.

Most Favorite – Maid of Waters (Page of Cups) – A little girl playing in water feels to me like the epitome of the Page of Cups. She is curious and imaginative, filled with potential for both seriousness and fun. The blue hues in the card promote calm and water itself is a representation of emotions. She may not be dipping her toes in those waters of imagination and emotion, but the fingertips are just as good.

DECK USED: WITCH SISTER TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I got up early to pack so that I wouldn’t have to stress about it (or putter about with it) all day before it’s time to leave for home.  It allows more time for me to relax and decompress before getting on the road.

Gideon’s Challenge

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Cedar ForestWhere We Go

I crave raindrops
tapping out
slow rhythms
from cedar tips
to mossy ground
in muffled
melodies
that are scented
with the sweet aroma
of green
blended with
the sharp sting
of sap’s scent
on the senses

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Seek Out the Spark

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#DailyCalm with the Calm appToday’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was a #DailyCalm session from the Calm app. It was a breathing exercise session which also discussed that with the new year upon us, how important it is to keep ourselves open to new experiences, opportunities, and possibilities. Although change can be challenging and scary, it also paves the way to new and exciting things. Today’s meditation encouraged that openness, reminding the listener that it’s only through being open to change that we can discover new and exciting pursuits to enjoy, people to love, and potential successes waiting for us to claim as our own.

The Wild Life Tarot Knight of Wands and It's Going to Be Okay 2024 Day-to-Day Calendar by Kate AllanDaily Finding the Positive Mental Health Exercise

Today’s draw is the Knight of Wands with the affirmation “You deserve lots of beauty in your life.” The Knight of Wands is an active card, reminding us that we have to take action to go after our dreams, that they won’t just fall in your lap.

Combined with the affirmation for today, the message here tells us that sometimes it may be hard to identify the beauty in life, but that doesn’t mean that we give up and decide that life is ugly and that’s all there is.  It means that when life gets cold and ugly that we must strive for more and actively seek out those things that we enjoy and those passions that drive us forward.

Don’t just lie stagnant and let the cold seep into your bones… keep moving and seek out that spark that makes life interesting.

DECK USED:  THE WILD LIFE TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

@Lionharts #TheJanuaryTarot 2024 January Initiation Prompt
Question for January 1st : In the silence of new year’s dawn, what am I guided to initiate?

The Wild Way OracleReading Summary: When you work at building trust with yourself and with others (the connection of the chain between the two birds), your life then grows to feel filled with an abundance of stability (the dam).

Take Away: At this time you need to work on initiating your own self-awareness, as well as making sure that you are setting aside time for others. You have many who trust you that need the stability of your presence.

Being trusted and trustworthy takes hard work and perseverance. It’s built over time through honesty and authenticity. You need to put in time as well as effort. Time with others so they see who you truly are over a long period, and the effort to always be genuine in the face you present to them and the world, no matter if times are good or if you are struggling and vulnerable.

DECK USED: THE WILD WAY ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2024 Challenge Prompt
Question for January 1st : What in your life needs started now for it to be ready when you need it?

The Wild Life Tarot - The Hermit, The Devil, The StarReading Summary: Prioritize positive thinking and optimism (The Star). That needs to be your goal from the start of this year. By starting now, you make a habit of it by the time you begin to get temped by depression (The Devil) to retreat into yourself (The Hermit) and fall into the darkness.

Take Away: Depression is a constant theme of concern in your life. A possibility that requires no event or trigger to rise up and wrap itself around you.

By focusing on the positive, and counterbalancing your natural pessimism with an effort toward optimistic thinking, you help keep your depression at bay, as well as lessen your depression’s strength and effects when it cannot be avoided entirely.

DECK USED: THE WILD LIFE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I pulled not just today’s cards, but also tomorrow’s, so that there will be one less thing on my plate tomorrow when trying to get packed and on the road back to home.