Anxiety
I hang on
gripping tight
as the world
moves
around me
while I seek
a moment
of peace
and solitude
in which
to take in
deep breaths
and exhale
slowly
Gideon’s Challenge – Anxiety
❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)
These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.
The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?
Earth – Ace of Pentacles – A new idea comes to fruition and the promise of opportunity is before you this week. Give it a go and see how it works for you.
Air – Three of Cups – Trust those closest to keep your secrets, but take care to share with them in private. Let them know what’s going on and let them share in the emotional burdens involved.
Water – Four of Cups – Take it slow and observe. There’s no need to stress yourself out, no need for overwhelm either. Just keep your ears and eyes open (and your mouth shut) in public places.
Fire – Two of Cups – Allow others to bolster your spirits. Remember that you’re not alone, and that those around you offer joy and release from stress.
Waning – Jack of Diamonds and Ace of Clubs – Wastefulness will tangle you up in intricacies you could have otherwise avoided. Pay attention to what you waste and where, whether it’s time or resources or something else entirely. Don’t let this waste become an obstacle in your path.
Waxing – Six of Hearts and Queen of Hearts – Mindfulness is key this week. Don’t live your life in the past or spend too much time worrying about the future. Your focus this week needs to be on right now.
Take Away – Make sure that you are paying attention to your surroundings, and that the things you want to keep private between yourself and those closest to you aren’t being overheard by a third party who has no business being involved. Take things slow, and avoid wasteful habits and practices, as they will only hold you back in the long run… even the ones that seem like they would be a shortcut.
DECKS USED: WONDERSTRUCK TAROT AND SUITS OF LIFE PLAYING CARDS
Obstacles Are Not Dead Ends
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Wheel of Fortune card, which is traditionally a representation of luck (both good and bad), changing circumstances, the ups and downs of life, and the cyclical nature of life and the world.
The Wheel of Fortune card has then been combined with the Health from The Life Navigation Deck, which says, “You are Mind, Body and Spirit – a formidable combination! remember to nurture each aspect for a whole and healthy you.”
Keep gratitude in mind for the things you can do and that your body, mind, and spirit continue to allow you to do. Getting older, chronic pain, and physical malfunction are limitations, not insurmountable obstacles. Don’t allow them more weight than they deserve.
A lot of people who develop disabilities or handicaps have a tendency to see these things as “the end” of something they enjoy or life as they know it as a whole. The message in today’s Wheel of Fortune card and affirmation is an encouragement to not allow one’s limitations become the insurmountable obstacles that keep you from a happy and healthy life. These limitations are merely challenges, not ending points.
DECK USED: ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES TAROT AND THE LIFE NAVIGATION CARDS
The @ambitiouslyalexa July Journal Prompts
Prompt for July 11th and 12th
A fear you’re shrinking
Six of Spades and Nine of Clubs
Over time, you’ve been working on shrinking the fear of change and starting over that, for a time, had started to get out of control and cause some problems.
In doing this, you are beginning to understand and absorb that you don’t have to defend yourself so vigorously against change and new beginnings.
Growth requires change, and you are beginning to accept that “bracing for impact” is counterproductive to healthy growth.
A craving you’re exploring
Ace of Hearts and Queen of Diamonds
You are exploring the idea that stability and emotions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and to explore what stability looks like when one’s emotions are not ignored but supported. Instead, you’re starting to see how stability and emotions can play off each other to make each other stronger instead of tearing each other down. You don’t have to choose one or the other.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES
#DiscordTarotholicsJul2026 Challenge
3-Card Spread Prompt for July 11th : About loss…
What loss are you currently confronting?
Five of Cups – You are in the middle of experimenting with the loss of your pessimistic outlook. As you dive deeper into confronting these tendencies, you discover more and more how they are an unhealthy hindrance you your growth, development, and success instead of the tool you thought that they were.
This is making it easier for you to let go of these pessimistic tendencies and focus on the positive aspects of life, as well as more often and more easily see and appreciate optimistic perspectives.
What healthy growth does this loss offer you?
Queen of Cups – It allows you to see emotion in a healthier way, and thus get to know your own emotions better. This, in turn, makes room for a more caring and understanding approach to your emotions as a whole.
How can I greet this loss with grace?
Three of Cups – Allow others to help support you emotionally by being participants in life alongside you. Don’t close out those that offer you support, even when the support offered may not be your cup of tea.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Red Oak Leaf for Fostering Unconditional Love
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES TAROT
This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.
Gideon’s Challenge – Wonder
Wonder
quiet moments
start with a pause
and the notice
of something
beautiful
that fills the heart
with wonder
and the lungs
with a breath
permeated
with awe
suspended
for the span
of heartbeats
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Re-Kindling the Spark
Today’s meditation was skipped.
• • • ◈ • 🍃 • ◈ • • •
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Four of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of dejection, refusal of assistance, contemplative moments, meditation, and feelings of apathy.
The Four of Cups has then been combined with the Curiosity card from the Box of Emotions, which says, “It’s the itch to find out more. The temptation to glance at an open diary, or strain to decipher an argument behind you on the bus. It’s the restless desire that made Leonardo da Vinci ask: What makes birds fly? How does the heart beat?“
There is a lot on the contemplation in the Curiosity card that speaks of the negative aspects of curiosity. And it’s true, anything can be negative if not taken in moderation. The positive, though, is just as worthy and even more important in my opinion.
On the positive side of curiosity is the seeds of creativity and invention. It is how we are driven to figure out how the world works and expand our understanding and knowledge.
When we are feeling the need to step away from the world, this can be healthy. But, like everything else, taken in excess it becomes a detriment to our health and happiness. Curiosity is one of the tools that allows us to pull ourself out of those moments of solitude before they become unhealthy. It lights the spark of motivation within us, pulling us out of our withdrawal to interact with the world once more.
The message in today’s Four of Cups card and Curiosity prompt is a reminder that indulging in curiosity can be a healthy way to pull yourself out of your doldrums and bring you back into contact with the world around you once more after you have retreated for a time.
DECKS USED: PIXIE’S MARSEILLE TAROT AND BOX OF EMOTIONS
#DiscordTarotholicsJul2026 Challenge
3-Card Spread Prompt for July 10th : About love…
What do you need from your loved ones that you are not receiving at this time?
Hedgehog – Everyone expects you to be “on” all of the time. It’s never about what you need. Instead, it’s about what they expect from you and what they need from you.
There is a selfishness here that, if you do not keep an eye and use your boundaries to keep in check, will tap you dry and leave you feeling hollow and overwhelmed at the same time.
What do your loved ones need from you that they are not receiving at this time?
Porcupine – As mentions above, boundaries are the key to a healthy give-and -take with your loved ones. Instead of chasing the ever moving target of their happiness and satisfaction, what they really need from you is firm boundaries that help to create a healthy and balanced dynamic. You need that from yourself, too.
How to create a balance between these two aspects that is healthy and kind?
Death’s-head Moth – Be gentle in establishing these boundaries and understand that others may see the change as a loss on their end. They may struggle under that feeling of loss and even show the signs of grief as they adjust. Treat this with kindness instead of cold indifference or impatience. You can be both kind and keep those new boundaries in place.
Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Acorn for Protection during New Beginnings
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Dye-Cut Bunny Figure for Connecting with Tenderness
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: ANIMAL GUARDIAN ORACLE
The @ambitiouslyalexa July Journal Prompts
Prompt for July 10th : A voice you’re learning to trust
Reading Summary: The voice within (The Hermit) that came before the conditioning of your past (Six of Cups) is quietly awakening within you (Ace of Pentacles).
Take Away: A lot of your doubts and conditional thinking is the “brainwashing” of your past and upbringing.
Beneath all this, there is a true and authentic self that is ready, willing, and even eager to show itself and be given the freedom to breathe.
As you grow, you are learning more and more how to hear the “authentically you” voice that resides beneath all that noise that tried to bury it. With each day that passes, you learn to more easily hear that voice and give it the space it needs to become stronger.
In allowing this authenticity to awaken and grow, you are learning to better trust that part of you that was beaten into submission long ago.
Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Yew Tips for Ancestral Connections
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: PIXIE’S MARSEILLE TAROT
This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.
Gideon’s Challenge – The Sway
The Sway
with golden rays
kissing our skin
lets lie together
in hammock’s
embrace
and watch
as the world
fades away
from gilded sea
to skies
of deepest
twilight
