I Need You
I want to dive
into frigid waters
salted to not freeze
as surface ripples
reflect the sky.
I want to see
clouds drift by
from
beneath the waves
and watch snowflakes
touch down
to join me
as they melt
into the sea.
There’s More In There
Today’s meditation was skipped.
Today’s draw is the High Priestess card, which is traditionally a representation of sacred knowledge, secrets, the mysterious feminine spirit, the subconscious mind, and intuition.
Today’s card is a reminder that I’m more than my work.
It’s an orders day, and on orders day I often have a hard time keeping up on self-care stuff and focusing anywhere other than on work. It’s easy to forget that there are other needs that need met and other things to be done. It’s easy to forget to listen to myself.
The High Priestess is a reminder to make sure that I’m listening to what I need, hearing the inner whispers and what they’re saying, and not falling so deep into my work that I become deaf to everything else.
DECK USED: TEDDY TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsJan2022 Challenge Prompt
Question for January 20th: What is your greatest vice that you’re not consciously aware of?
Reading Summary: Seeing your impatience with yourself and self abuse as something that makes you stronger.
Take Away: I am so fucking guilty of this. SO guilty. I am impatient with myself so often, and neglect myself or abuse myself in small (and sometimes not so small) ways so often. With a hard heart, I look at these moments as “toughening up” when in fact… I’m already tough enough and I need to be kinder to myself.
I’m not sure how to break myself of this habit, or this viewpoint that these unhealthy habits make me stronger. Perhaps Gid might have some ideas in this area.
DECK USED: YORU NO SUMI-E
Mr Lionharts’ #TheJanuaryTarot Wheel of 22 Challenge Prompt
Question for January 20th: How can I create healthy stability in my life as I move through 2022?
The Sun atop Two of Pentacles Rx – Lean into positivity to a point that feels excessive. The pessimist sees a tea spoon of optimism as a gallon jug. It’s not a gallon jug, it’s a teaspoon. You can go so much further with this than you realize, and still not be annoying anyone but yourself with it.
Three of Pentacles – Allow others to help you even more in your work. Letting others do more has been a major theme for the past year, but there’s more that you can go in this area as well. Keep looking for opportunities to involve others in the process more and share the responsibility more evenly.
The Moon – Don’t be stagnant when uncertainty rears it’s ugly head. As a reading earlier this week pointed out, sometimes hunkering down to brace doesn’t create more stability, it just creates stagnancy. Keep moving. When you stop to brace, those moments of stillness are something that you end up stuck in.
DECK USED: TEDDY TAROT
I made a concerted effort to eat on a schedule today even though I was struggling with concentrating on anything outside of work.
Gideon’s Challenge
Stumbling Blocks
Disappointment
carries weight
even when
long prepared
knowledge
of it coming
is given
Don’t shrug it off
for frustration
follows
if you let
that weight
slide away
too soon
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Mercury Retrograde Self-Reflection Reading
Mercury is in Retrograde from January 14th thru February 3rd. As the planet of communication, when Mercury goes into retrograde, it can often affect people by shifting their perspectives and abilities when it comes to one’s communication with others, including family and friends, work, social media, and more. Admittedly, I don’t often experience these affects personally, but I liked the spread. 😉
What perspectives need to be reviewed?
Mermaid’s Love – Take some time to reflect on your relationship with Gideon and just how well you fit together like puzzle pieces. One’s strengths support the other’s weaknesses and vice-versa. In this relationship, you are equals for each brings something to the table that is unique and that the other needs. Combined, you become more complete than either of you are when apart.
Ways I can work through any mental blockages.
Eva – Don’t allow yourself to hide away that which needs to be seen and known. Secrets, especially those kept from yourself, are poisonous and can not just set you back but incapacitate you entirely, depending on what they’re about. Pay attention and be aware of what you are hiding from. Awareness is the first step to finding resolution and a better path forward.
How can I bring in more conscious thought practices?
Moondance – Work on that optimism that helps you see life through a more magical lens. Only when you’re able to see the beauty around you are you at your best, and only then will you be more easily and with more confidence be able to balance the hard parts with the easier ones.
Ways I can be more clear and concise with communication.
Queen Bee – Be strong. Be supportive. You don’t have to choose one or the other. Gentle your sharp tongue to provide a more nurturing energy that can lift people up, even as you remain strong on your boundaries and expectations.
What thinking patterns or ideas do I need to release?
Touch the Sky – Unhealthy alone time is awfully tempting, even during times when things are going well. It’s that lingering in bed, those stolen moments retreating into the games on your phone, the temptation to nap when you don’t need one and linger in the limbo of waking instead of returning to face the day head on. None of these are good for you, and you need to work at making healthier choices no matter how tempting those unhealthy ones are in the moment.
Main lesson from this Mercury Retrograde.
Like a Bird – How to balance your motivation in a more healthy way. You are capable of succeeding even when you’re not pushing yourself like some kind of slave driver. It doesn’t mean you’re stalling out, and a slower pace doesn’t mitigate success or create stagnancy as long as you stay motivate to keep moving forward… no matter the pace you take to get there.
DECK USED: ORACLE OF MYSTICAL MOMENTS
No Bracing Needed
Today’s meditation was skipped.
Today’s draw is the Quattro di Denari (Four of Pentacles), which is traditionally a representation of
La danzatrice di Jam Jeer dances among her coins, because it is among the coins she feel safe and secure. Supported. Just as these coins stand on their edges, she stands on pointe, balanced and stable even while she revels in movement filled with flouncing fabrics and flowing feathers.
This card tells a story of stability and balance that is not created through stagnancy or stillness, but rather through the confidence to feel safe, secure, and stable even while in movement.
The message for today is a reminder that you don’t have to stop, still, and brace in order to find stability. It can be with you every day as you go about your life, and that is the healthy type of stability that we all should be seeking. Not the kind that lies in stagnant stillness.
DECK USED: THARBON I TAROCCHI
GroundedInMagic’s #Lovers2022TarotChallenge Challenge Prompt
Question: How do I let perfectionism get in the way of love?
Reading Summary: Don’t be so hard on yourself (Queen of Coins) when you reflect on your efforts towards emotional growth (Ace of Cups). Even when you’re not paying attention, even when you’re resting (Four of Swords) or completely turning a blind eye the other way (Eight of Swords)… even then, you’re still on the right path in this area. You don’t have to keep your eye on the ball every moment in this area of your life.
Take Away: Even though I know that this emotional development journey that I’m on is going to take time, for some reason I have a habit of pushing myself to go faster and do more, even when there is no deadline and no “end goal” in sight.
Today’s cards are about self love, and about being kind to myself and not forcing myself to measure and judge every tiny step and moment of progress. There is no standard of progress here, and there is no race to win or deadline to meet. Let it come at its own time. Sometimes the best things develop through fermentation when out of sight (… like good kimchi!)
DECK USED: LE TAROT DE GULLIVER
#DiscordTarotholicsJan2022 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Is it true that pleasure is the root of all true evil?
Reading Summary: Lush and swollen to the point of near-vulgarity, the trees in the forest of the Nine of Pentacles speak of excess and hedonism.
In the Ace of Cups, a cornucopia overflows, in a bounty of emotions and a demonstration of a different sort of wealth, one based in emotion instead of earthly delights.
Here in the Seven of Swords, we see a forger working at his anvil, creating swords in his workshop and looking not just content, but enraptured with his work while he prepares weapons meant to reap more from the world for those that wield them.
Take Away: Clearly, the opinion of these cards is a resounding yes. I’m not sure I agree, but in this case, it is in the bounty and pleasure of what we can gain that inspires the evil that will be wrought.
DECK USED: THARBON I TAROCCHI
I put everything back up above the fireplace. I couldn’t stand it being so bare. I just couldn’t. I know that soon I’ll just have to pull it all back down again, but it was really bothering me.
Gideon’s Challenge
The Thief Arrives
Snow flies
as curious eyes
come to see
what is new
with you
a little hop
makes snow drop
as the brave thief
watches on
don’t turn your back
don’t look away
or you might find
your treasures
gone astray
