Finding the Positive for December 1 – 3

Winter Magic Tarot, Snowland Tarot, Winter Waite Tarot, and Self-Made Christmas Affirmation Cards

December 1 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

The @GlitterbyInk #DecembersChild24 Challenge
Healing the Inner Child Prompt for December 1st
: Nostalgia

Today’s card is the Devil card combined with the affirmation “Have an ice day and stay frosty!”

A lot of the cards in the affirmation deck I’m using this month hold a great deal of nostalgia for me. Not because the characters are familiar, but because I remember these corny little cards (like valentine cards kids exchange at school) that we used to have for different holidays.

It reminds me of feelings and fun and childhood moments of hope.  It reminds me of bushing hotly as I made little cards to give out because my parents wouldn’t buy the store-bought ones for me, and how fascinated I was with each of the little sayings on the store bought ones given to me on the day.

There’s danger in nostalgia, though.  The same danger that lies hidden in pretty much anything pleasurable. For  if you dip too far into it, you lose sight of reality.  You forget about the bad parts, just as if you lean too far into thinking about the bad parts of your past that you lose sight of the good parts.

Today’s cards, for me, are a reminder that too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. Balance is important.  Take the bad with the good and vice versa in order to keep the scales balanced in your life and your memories based more solidly in reality.

DECK USED: WINTER MAGIC TAROT AND SELF-MADE CHRISTMAS AFFIRMATION CARDS

December 2 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

The @GlitterbyInk #DecembersChild24 Challenge
Healing the Inner Child Prompt for December 2nd
: Magic

Today’s card is the Page of Swords combined with the affirmation “Have an elf-cellent holiday season!”

There is a lot of really amazing things happening this time of year.  Charity ramps up and kindness with it. There’s community events like parades and holiday bazaars. Gift giving and generosity rise.

It can be hard to enjoy, though, if you spend too much time in your head.  Doing so can separate you from the warmth of the season and the bits of fun that it has to offer.

I hear a lot of people that bitch about the music or the crowds, etc.  Fair.  We all have things we don’t like about the holiday season.  But what do you *like* about it?  And more important yet, what do you feel ambivalent about that you might actually like if you gave it a chance?

Today’s card (combined with the Healing the Inner Child prompt) reminds us to stay open to the joy and the fun that this time of year has to offer.  Don’t get caught up in the negative aspects, but reach for the positive ones to make these busy weeks ahead feel happier and warmer, lighter and more magical than they otherwise might.

DECK USED: SNOWLAND TAROT AND SELF-MADE CHRISTMAS AFFIRMATION CARDS

December 3 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

The @GlitterbyInk #DecembersChild24 Challenge
Healing the Inner Child Prompt for December 3rd
: Curiosity

Today’s card is the Queen of Swords (landed on the table reversed) combined with the affirmation “There’s no need to be so hard on yourself, you’re managing as best you can.”

I have met a few people in my life that have a woe that I personally have a hard time understanding. I’ve been thinking about them a lot the last little bit, because I ran into another one just the other day.  These are people who have come to the belief that they have no true talent or skill. That they are a waste of space and time because they have nothing that they are good at, no hobbies or interests, nothing at which they shine.

And then… today’s cards brought to light an understanding of this mindset that I hadn’t considered before.

What drives inspiration? Curiosity does.  It’s the spark of fire that gets inspiration started and us moving to explore whatever has caught our attention.  And what kills curiosity? Internally directed negativity.  It is the voice within us that tells us we can’t do something, that we’ll suck at it, that it’s a waste of time. That inner voice may have been created by someone else, but by the time we get to the point where we believe we are talent-less and without merit?  It’s playing on repeat in our own heads.

The key to breaking this pattern comes in turning to that negative voice and saying “fuck you, I’m doing it anyway”.  Not worrying about if you’re good or not and just sating that curiosity anyway. Letting yourself have fun with it, play with it, and mess things up.

Even when you -know- you might fail, it’s in doing it anyway in order to gain experience and just -see- what happens.  Because if you don’t do that?  You can’t learn.  And if you don’t learn?  You never find those things you enjoy and are good at.  And yes… sometimes that negative voice in your head is going to whisper away in the background those things you don’t want to hear, but the idea is to not listen.  To have some fun.  To let your curiosity flourish.  Experiment and explore.

Then… our of nowhere?  You might just some day you just might surprise yourself by ending up being good at something you once were bad at… or good at something you didn’t ever even consider you might be good at.   That’s how you find where personal talents lie and those things that you enjoy.  Dive in, and have fun… and don’t worry so much about if you’re good at it or not.

DECK USED: THE WINTER WAITE TAROT REVISED EDITION (2019) AND SELF-MADE CHRISTMAS AFFIRMATION CARDS

Gideon’s Challenge

Forest DetritusHeart and Home

Like evergreens and fallen leaves
Like moss and tangled briars
Like lichen’s cling to Craig’s bark
And pine cones in the fire
Like the stinging scent of cedar
And pine needles underfoot
Nurse logs wet and rotting
Giving life to brand new roots
Like morels in the shadows
Like snowberries on the bush
Like decay in the detritus
And tree roots among mud’s squish
You are my beloved home
And I need you just as much

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Finding the Positive for November 18 and 19

The Storyteller's Tarot, Dark Reflections Tarot, and It's Going to Be Okay 2024 Day-to-Day Calendar by Kate

November 18 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🍂    •    ◈    •    •    •

Today’s card is the Ten of Coins combined with the affirmation “These overwhelming difficulties will pass with time. There will be life after this.”

The affirmation for today is a reminder that hard times are temporary. When combined with the Ten of Coins, the reminder takes on new meaning as it promises that there is good ahead, if you’re only willing to wait through it and keep moving forward. Sometimes it can feel like the bad stuff is never ending, and there’s a reminder here, too, that even in those times we need to try and acknowledge the good.  Even if it’s the fact that something tastes good, smells good, or feels good like a good food, hugging a stuffie, or a moment alone in the shower.

It’s hard to acknowledge these things when everything feels like it’s falling to shit. It’s hard to -see- them at all when you’re feeling at your worst, let alone see that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what these reminders are about.  They are a reminder that even when you can’t see the light up there ahead in the dark?  It’s there.  It really is there; you just have to keep going to find it.  And those tiny pleasures along the way?  They’re there to help you take the next step… and then the next.

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

November 19 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🍂    •    ◈    •    •    •

@GlitterbyInk #November24Challenge
One Word Book Title Prompt for November 19th
: Mindset

Today’s card is The Hermit card combined with the affirmation “It is better to handle life alone rather than stay with others who mistreat you.”

It can be hard to let go. Even when we know it’s what’s best for us. This is true not just for when it’s things that we partake in that are unhealthy, but especially true when it has to do with people in our lives.  Most especially when it has to do with people in our lives we feel obligated to or dependent upon.

Its that obligation and/or dependence that holds a lot of us back from taking steps to make our own lives better, along with a healthy dose of fear of the unknown (and for some, fear of being alone).

Truth be told, though? Being alone isn’t really that bad. Especially when the alternative is unhappy togetherness, unhealthy connections, or abuse.  It’s all in how you look at it.  If you look at yourself as incomplete without another there to complete you, then sure, being alone is horrible.  But, if instead, you turn your perspective to one of love and acceptance of yourself and self confidence in yourself and who you are?  Alone is not so bad. It lets you spoil yourself as you like, enjoy the things you enjoy, and experience the things you want to explore.

This is true whether you are in a relationship or not. It’s true whether you are simply spending a day on your own, or living alone long term.  It’s all in how you look at things, and how you approach that time alone, on whether it’s something healthy and happy… or a fear that holds you back and traps you in an  unhealthy situation.

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

Gideon’s Challenge

Flying SeedpodsThe Angel’s Words

My wings don’t spread
wide enough to fly
without you
here
to make them lighter
to carry.
You provide the lift
I need
the air I breathe
and each moment
without you
is a bit heavier
than the one before it.

Yours.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

Evening CloudsThe Heart’s Anchor

In the clouds
resides
a reminder
of just how
small
we all are
and how
your love
provides comfort
and stability
in a universe
filled
with uncertainty.

I love you.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Finding the Positive for November 15 and 16

Dark Crystal Tarot, Runescript Tarot, and It's Going to Be Okay 2024 Day-to-Day Calendar by Kate

November 15 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🍂    •    ◈    •    •    •

@GlitterbyInk #November24Challenge
One Word Book Title Prompt for November 15th
: Grace

Today’s card is the Four of Cups combined with the affirmation “I will do my best to value myself today.

It’s important to remember that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, it just looks that way from a distance, but up close? It’s just as messed up as your own lawn. Sometimes having (and valuing) what you already have is enough.

I feel that grace is a misunderstood concept.  Something “old fashioned” that no one really thinks about anymore.  It is a blend of poise, simple elegance, refinement, courtesy, and goodwill.

I see this theme a great deal in the Four of Cups, for in this card there is always an offer made, and a rejection of it. Yet, this rejection is not harsh or unpleasant.  In this card, too, the offer is in the cups that surround the center figure, and yet the focus of that figure is on what is already in their possession.

The reminder in these cards is we need to appreciate what we have. To value ourselves. Who we are and what we have going for us.  Don’t take these things for granted, always looking for something better or the next improvement.  You are whole now… right now in this moment. Make sure to appreciate that… appreciate you.  Your mind. Your personality. Your body.  Your strengths.  These things are yours and hold value far beyond the “what if” scenarios of the future and the daydreams of what “could be”.

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

November 16 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🍂    •    ◈    •    •    •

@GlitterbyInk #November24Challenge
One Word Book Title Prompt for November 15th
: Shadow

Today’s card is the Seven of Cups combined with the affirmation “Just because you are struggling now doesn’t mean that you always will.”

Sometimes our struggles are chosen for us by others or happenstance.  It happens, and it sucks.  But more often than that, our struggles are our own. We have made the choices that lead to them, even if we didn’t know that is what the result would be when those choices were made.   We are also who chooses whether to bear them out or leave them behind, to learn from them or repeat them when we don’t learn from them, and how we react to these struggles in the moment.  Do we make things easier on ourselves? Or do we pile on the hardship through self abuse and recriminations?

Today’s cards are a reminder that we don’t have to let the dark urges within us take the lead. We can take struggles and hardships with grace and make the best out of things, or we can do the opposite and throw a pity party while we cast blame.  The latter gets us nowhere, and leaves us with the need to once again try to learn the lessons that this hardship and struggle is trying to teach us.  Better to instead choose to look for the boon, seek out the lesson, and do your best to stay positive as you deal with what needs dealt with so that you can move on.

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