No Snow
January
comes with
raindrops
and cold
but no snow
to show
that winter
is here
dusts
the landscape
only puddles
for as far
as the eye
can see
I’m not complaining
📆 Transitioning from December to January
Here and Now I Exist – Who you are now, in your entirety.
The Star / Skullcap – Hopeful. In so many aspects of your life at this time, you harbor hope for better things to come. Better health. Better balance. Better stability. A greater sense of calm and connection. These are all things you are hoping for in the months ahead, and those hopes are currently riding at the surface due to the transition into not just a new month but also a new year.
The Slough – What is to be left in the past as you move forward.
Three of Swords / Pleurisy Root – Expel disappointments instead of holding onto them. It isn’t enough to wait them out and hope that things will change on their own. Be proactive in rejecting the rot of depression that disappointment can cause if left untended by giving yourself the attention and care you need during these times.
What Lies Ahead – An ideal state or ideal self you are seeking at this time.
Four of Swords / Mullein – You’re sick and need time to rest and recover. This requires recuperative rest that will allow you to grow strong again. Breathe deep (do your breathing exercises to ensure that fluid doesn’t build up in your lungs) and get the rest you need. Don’t rush it.
Limitations – Negative influences, opposition, or ill will.
The Fool / Ginseng – Make sure as you feel better that you follow the upswing in energy. Don’t linger to wallow in the stillness of leisure because it’s comfortable. This isn’t about rushing, but it is about returning back to hale and healthy on the right foot.
The Boon – Positive influences, higher guidance, or divine intervention.
Strength / Cayenne atop Six of Wands / Hawthorn – Movement is important. It sparks circulation, and when the blood is pumping the body is more open to motivation and movement. Small steps are fine. Don’t let the expectations of others push you to hurry. Just keep moving at your own pace.
The Wound – An unpleasant past experience or event that is ripe for some support and healing.
Temperance / Echinacea – The words people say in anger or while inebriated are not lies. They are unvarnished moments of truth. Those things wouldn’t be said in these uninhibited moments if they didn’t live somewhere in their mind during inhibited ones. Neither alcohol nor anger creates what isn’t already there, it just makes it easier to say those hidden thoughts aloud.
Trust in the truth being shown to you.
Nostalgia – A positive past experience or event to acknowledge, reflect upon, and enjoy.
Queen of Swords / Lady’s Slipper – The truth will set you free. All you have to do is listen and accept.
A Warning – Something coming that can be prevented or overcome.
Two of Cups / Uva Ursi – Watch out for what (or who) might become a disruption otherwise harmonious relationships. Outside influences causing problems need to be gently dealt with. Take care to move on these things with caution and care, instead of your normal “off with their heads” aggression.
Empowerment – A future opportunity to work toward.
King of Pentacles / Alfalfa – Stability requires balance, just like your digestive system. That means stability isn’t about stagnancy, but about building strength through movement. Don’t hunker down and brace for the storm, instead build your agility by facing storms head on and adjusting your stance to stay strong.
Message from the Spirit World – Work with us (spirits and ancestors) and let us lead a bit more in your life, and you will reap the benefits of a greater sense of stability. Not all stability is the result of tight-fisted control.
Message from the Mind’s World – You’ll recover more quickly from moments of disappointment if you continue to focus on your practices in positivity and optimism, and allow yourself time to process your disappointments instead of expecting yourself to be impervious.
Message from the Physical World – Start activity again after your illness with a lean towards enjoyment and a shrewd eye on making sure you’re not going too far or doing too much.
Take Away – There’s lots of stress here on ensuring that you keep moving, even in small ways, both in those things you want to thrive as well as your body as a whole. It’s time for rest and recovery followed by a slow start back to healthy and hale. Don’t push, just don’t linger in one place either.
Watch for the revelation of hidden truths. Don’t disregard them, as people are going to be showing their true colors around you and you need to pay attention. This doesn’t mean acting rashly on anything learned, just pay attention and gather information. This knowledge could help you out later in putting things in perspective and making priorities.
DECKS USED: THE HERBAL TAROT
Tarot Card of the Day Tracking for 2025
Early in this year, I decided to start keeping track of my daily cards. Now, being the curious sort that I am? I would -love- to track all the cards I pull for myself throughout the year, but that project is just a little bit too much for me to handle. So, I settled for tracking my Card of the Day.
In the past when I’ve done this, I’ve used journals or graphs on graph paper, or little graphics in Photoshop where I fill in the circles, etc. It doesn’t really give me a lot of information, though, just looks cool. Because of that, I invariably fall of on the tracking and it ends up forgotten in a corner somewhere.
This year, I created a Tarot Card of the Day Tracker in Notion. Now, keep in mind? I am not that great at databases, spreadsheets, and all that sort of shit. There was a LOT of trial and error, and to be honest? It doesn’t do -everything- that I want it to do. (I’m still trying to tinker with it now and then with my super novice skill levels.)
This allows me to track different aspects of my practice, such as looking at the stats by suit, showing me which suits I pull more of than others throughout the year. I can change the dates to look at months or other portions of the year as well if I like.
It also allows me to see stats by number. In other words, how many cards of each number value I’ve pulled. With this I can see that I pulled a great number of Fives, Eights, and Kings. I can extrapolate from that that a big part of this year I was in need of extra support (that’s the focus of my COTD, after all) in the areas of conflict, stability, moderation, and leadership.
By sorting the stats by individual card, I can also see which cards I pulled most often, and those I pulled the least. In this graph, for example, I can clearly see that my least pulled card this year was the Four of Swords and Knight of Swords, all the other 76 cards got pulled at least twice throughout the year. The Eight of Pentacles, Five of Cups, and Queen of Wands were each pulled a total of nine times, the most out of any of the other cards in the deck.
As a whole, I’m pretty happy with this. And, because I like to look at pictures, I also added views that allow me to look back on the images of the cards pulled each day, as well as an included “deck gallery” for the decks I used in my daily card practice.
So, what would I change?
Not a lot. I’d like to see some sort of full year view in a layout similar to the 2021 Calendar view I did in the past. I’d also like to be able to add future years to the views for each of the stats pages. That way I could keep up the results of 2025 on display, with the new graph for each view also on the page for comparison (perhaps one above the other). I’ve not quite figured this stuff out yet. (Any Notion wizards out there that want to help? I’m not adverse to help!) 💀
Curating a Life
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 Fool card, which is traditionally a representation of innocence, carelessness, carefree enthusiasm, and new beginnings.
The Fool card has then been combined with one of the Daily Truth Oracle cards, which says, “I am an authority on my life.”
Don’t allow others to tell you what you should enjoy. Your pleasures and joys are yours, and you can identify them far more easily than anyone else can.
When you find something that lights you up inside, sparks your interest, or breathes life into your curiosity? Allow yourself to grab hold of that thread and follow it instead of worrying what others may think. This is how you become a unique and diverse individual. So screw the naysayers.
The message in today’s cards is encouragement to follow your joy and allow your curiosity to flourish. Don’t worry so much about what others will think. It’s your life, after all, so curate it into something that brings you joy.
DECK USED: TAROT VINTAGE
#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Prompt for December 31st : Grab a spread of your choice you’re curious about… and give it a go!
Prompts courtesy of @moonomens
Sacred goodbyes → New intentions
The Sun and Two of Pentacles – Sometimes you have to sacrifice the bright and shining success you have in mind in order to foster a healthier balance in your life. There’s really only so much room in one’s life to fit so many endeavors. Sometimes, you have to choose which one is more important to you. Prioritize wisely.
Healing the past → Inner leadership
Page of Pentacles and Ten of Pentacles – Be patient with yourself as you work on healing past wounds. Keep you eye on the goal of healthy closure/completion, and take others with you on the journey so they can help you remember to celebrate your wins as they come.
Karmic closure → Conscious arrival
Six of Swords and The Empress – It’s time to release those things that aren’t working for you. Use this time of transitions to reset to a more nurturing, care-centric focus that will make room for you to discover healthier habits and methods.
Wisdom gathered → Curiosity reborn
Five of Swords and The High Priestess – Look back upon your greatest victories and defeats, and get curious about where you could revisit these experiences to gain new information missed in the moment. There are secrets in these experiences yet to be discovered.
Trusting the flow → Frequency activated
The Star and Queen of Swords Rx – Speak less. Trust the process. Release control over whether what you say is hitting its mark and let things work themselves out on their own. You can only provide the message; it’s up to the recipient to actually listen and hear you, or disregard your words.
Cycles complete → Action and courage
Four of Swords and Six of Wands – Once your time of rest during the new year comes to an end, it’s time to “show them what you can do”. This isn’t about garnering praise, but might be a little bit about showing off for pride’s sake. Make sure that you’re rested and fully recovered first, though. That needs to take priority.
Energetic cleansing → New paths opening
Ten of Cups and Two of Cups – Find joy and appreciation in sharing good times with others. Allow this to create a sense of overall well-being for you that can be shared with those closest to you. That connection will then carry forward into new moments in the future.
Release and surrender → Soul purpose renewed
Ten of Wands and Judgement – It’s time to let go when things reach a point of overwhelm, instead of continuing to stubbornly keep moving. Put down your burden during these times, and take a moment to remind yourself of what you truly value and want. Then, return to what you’ve put down and pick up only what aligns with those values and goals.
Reflection & integration → Claiming your true path
Death Rx and Seven of Swords Rx – Look at the times over the past year where changes (and as a result, all progress and movement) were delayed, and the damage done by the stagnancy that resulted. Consider what you could have done differently in these situations to keep moving and escape the consequences that stagnancy wrought.
Completion • Release • Integration → Beginnings • Choice • Creation
Nine of Pentacles and The Devil – Now is a time to look back on your accomplishments and pat yourself on the back for them, then turn your gaze forward and flirt with your addictive tendencies to discover new interests and joys to explore. You can indulge and explore without going too far by leaning into self-awareness concerning those addictive tendencies.
DECK USED: TAROT VINTAGE
More sick and miserable TLC. I made baked chicken for dinner with white rice for something that wouldn’t upset my stomach (or anyone else’s either). Slept most of the day away.
Gideon’s Challenge – The Introvert
The Introvert
Let’s burrow
under the leaves
and hide
from the day
and the noise
Find a soft spot
to curl up
and warm
to comfortable
Sleep away
the hours
until the sun sets
and we can then
return to bed
once more
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
🎨 Weekly Creativity Prompt – Picking Themes
Prompt : From your deck of choice, select one card for each of the themes listed below. Post the cards you chose, and share how you made the connection that you did between the prompts and the cards.
Note: I chose to pull the cards for this practice through random shuffle instead of picking them out.
A Christmas Gift Gone Wrong
Ace of Pentacles – Jack knew that the main motivation for his father-in-law to offer him the ER position as a Christmas gift was so that he wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with Clare. Not to mention it means he has to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, which prevents him from joining Clare and her family on Christmas. It’s still a good job, though! A prime opportunity for advancement, too.
And it turns out? He gets to see Clare and her family anyway, as dear old dad stubbornly tried to climb a ladder to fix a burnt out stringer of lights on the house (instead of letting Jack take care of it when he gets off work), and now they’re all here in the ER with Jack to enjoy Christmas as a family after all.
A Walk In Winter Snow at Night
The Emperor – Filled with pride, Mr Fitzgerald walks down his street looking at all the home decorations on the houses of all his neighbors. With so much going on this year and finances being strapped, a lot of people weren’t going to decorate this year. He pulled them all together, though, and helped where he could. In the end, everyone ended up decorating.
None of it is over the top, but everyone joined in with him at the helm to help keep things organized. Now, as he walks and enjoys the view on Christmas Eve, his boots crunch in the snow and the cold nips his nose, but soon other boots join in as the neighbors come together again to enjoy the beauty they’ve created, trailing after him along the sidewalk and chattering words of admiration and encouragement among themselves as they move from home to home.
A Perfect New Years Evening
The Empress – Sometimes you just have to create some boundaries and take a night for yourself, and that’s exactly what Marjorie is doing on this special night. With a bath tub filled with nice warm water and bubbles, a book to read, and relaxing music playing, she relaxes in a house that had been filled with noise since the eve of Christmas Eve until just a few hours ago.
Now, with everyone out to ring in the new year, she has the house all to herself and quiet reigns as she takes a sip of her wine then reaches for the plate sitting on the edge of the tub with the bit of chocolate cake waiting for her to enjoy. Leaning back into the warmth of the water and tickle of bubbles with a decadent sigh of pleasure.
Twisting the Leaf 