Wrong Way
It made me laugh
and I had to share
I wanted to get it
For my front door
this year.
But unfortunately
it points
the wrong way
the good candy
next door
is to the left
with Snickers
and Butterfingers
and Milky Way.
Morning Bonus Read – Rest In Peace?
The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This week, chat with your divination tools about what things in your life need to be laid to rest.”
What general area of my life needs to see some death at this point? (Relationships, work, education, physical health, mental health, etc)
Three of Clubs
Passion projects that you have been working on lately are now in need of being set aside. There’s a handful of things you started that are just not going to get done. Not right now. Not this year. Set them aside for now and you can reconsider them and whether they should be resurrected once the new year has passed.
What specific things do I need to lay to rest over the next month?
Ace of Clubs
This is an echo of the previous question with a bearing down of focus on those creative passion projects that you have begun to invest in most recently. The holiday rush is coming on fast and will be here before you know it. You might not want to set these things aside since you’re feeling so very passionate about them at the moment… but do it anyway.
How will this affect me emotionally?
Four of Spades
By setting these passion projects aside for the rest of the year, it will create space for you to rest and recover rather than feeling the need to “go go go” without any rest or restoration at all.
How will this affect me mentally?
Nine of Clubs
Setting aside projects in this way has a tendency to make me feel guilty and defensive about the need to set things aside in the first place and the decision to do so.
How will this affect me physically?
Three of Spades
Anxiety and my inner dialogue creating hurt feelings… here we come. This physical reaction is a response to the mental recriminations going on. It’s about inner demons spilling out into physical symptoms. That’s okay. Pretty soon I’ll be too damned busy to worry about it and the increased anxiety will fade.
How should I cope with these emotional effects in the healthiest way?
Seven of Diamonds
With time and patience. It’s important to understand that what’s happening in the present is just temporary. It’s okay… and soon time will trudge on and things will change again. So look forward to where you want to go, and work in the direction of where you want to be when you get to the other side of the holiday rush.
How should I cope with these mental effects in the healthiest way?
King of Spades
Take control of your inner dialogue and shape that shit up. You may not be able to control every single aspect of that inner voice, but when you catch yourself listening to those negative whispers? Take control of the situation and turn things around in your favor.
How should I cope with these physical effects in the healthiest way?
Ten of Hearts
Just recently you have begun to feel a sense of emotional completion that you’ve never experienced before, and you understand that this experience is through the growth that you’ve been working with exploring over the spring and summer of this year.
The Ten of Hearts card here is about focusing on where you want to be at the end of running the gamut of the holiday rush. You want to return to your emotional growth and leaning into a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence… and to that sense of emotional completion you’ve now had a hint of a taste of. The goal is to find yourself on the path where you can return to the warm glow of leisurely emotional exploration. Train you focus there, like a light at the end of a long tunnel glowing in welcome.
DECK USED: PIATNIK’S THE HORROR! MOVIE PLAYING CARDS
Your Unseen Influence
Today’s meditation was skipped because I dozed off. What was supposed to be a ten minute meditation instead turned into a three hour nap. Seriously. THREE HOURS. So… I was a bit ticked with myself and decided to hold off on the meditation until bed time just to make sure I didn’t end up dozing off again in the middle of the day.
Today’s draw is the Page of Coins, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of finance, resources, manifestations, hearth and home, or health. This often displays itself as someone learning how to be responsible in these aspects of life, or learning a new skill associated with those aspects.
What stands out most strongly in the imagery of today’s card is that the woman seems both quite sensual, and a bit cocky. I have a hard time equating the pages of the tarot with “cocky” but I definitely connect the earthy sensuality of temptation and sex with the pentacles.
She is nubile and beautiful, and although her expression is a bit cocky, it also looks a bit tender. Like she is aware of her appeal, but doesn’t quite understand the power she holds… yet. But she’s getting there.
The message in this card today has to do with that lack of self awareness… or rather, perhaps it is a lack of awareness of others, and the power and influence you hold over them. Make sure to stay aware of that influence you hold, even when at times you may doubt it’s presence or it’s power.
DECK USED: MADAM LYDIA WILHELMINA’S TAROT
LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: I trust my intuition and I allow it to flow here.
Reading Summary: When I am protecting my home and values (Nine of Wands) from the outside world (The World), I am willing to go to great lengths to do so (Knight of Wands) with little moderation (Temperance Rx).
Take Away: I trust my intuition and allow it to flow freely when it comes to anything that has to do with the protection of my home and loved ones, and the defense and strength of my values.
There have been too many times that my intuition has said something is coming, and if I had not listened could have resulted in disaster. I now have not even the smallest niggling of doubt when my intuition speaks in this area, nor even the slightest temptation in ignoring those impulses. I dive in and do what needs done without question.
DECK USED: HALLOWEEN MAGICK TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Listen / Process / Release
Listen – Three of Swords – When your feelings are hurt? They’re trying to tell you something. At those times, instead of wallowing in how you are feeling, take some time to try to pick things apart and find the message hidden within the experience.
Process – Queen of Pentacles – One of the aspects of the Queen of Pentacles is finding that work/life balance that allows for providing for the home and family financially as well as in a nurturing role. This is very similar to the type of balanced juggling that I have been trying to instill in my own life, and feel that I have found but is not “cemented in place” as well as I would like it to be yet.
Release – Ace of Wands – As I move into the holiday rush (which is only a few weeks away now and time is running down quickly), that spark of inspiration for new projects and ideas needs to be put on the back burner in order to train my focus more fully on what needs done and the overwhelm that is coming. Something has to give at this time of year to make room for that overwhelming pick up in orders…. and this is one of those things.
DECK USED: LUIS ROYO’S DARK TAROT
#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: What is my presently most influential Spirit Guide’s personality?
Reading Summary: Sneaky (Seven of Swords), controlling (Wheel of Fortune Rx), and willing to do what is needed to make me see the truth in the world around me (Eight of Swords).
Take Away: Sometimes sneaky is also clever, and honestly? As hard as I worked for so long to ignore the presence of my spirit guides? It does not surprise me that the one in the foreground at the moment is both sneaky and controlling. After all, without that ingenuity? They wouldn’t be getting their messages across, would they? The goal is to make sure I’m not closing my eyes to reality, and I think that for the most part they’ve done a pretty damned good job.
DECK USED: CATTON CANDY NIGHTMARE TAROT
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What are my divination challenges?
Reading Summary: Slow progress (Seven of Hazards) can be frustrating (Five of Cups). Although that frustration can make it hard to be kind to myself (Empess), I need to make sure I’m giving myself the grounding (potted plant in the Empress card) and love I need (Locked Heart Charm) or it will just continue to hold me back (Anchor Charm).
The lily charm sitting over the woman in the Five of Cups indicates that when I am feeling frustrated, I can often feel like I’m in the right in feeling that way and have a hard time seeing that the feeling is temporary and lacking in true wisdom.
Take Away: These cards (and charms) indicate that they are referring to my spirit guide efforts. I want a stronger and more conscious connection with my spirit guides and it’s something I’ve been trying to develop since the beginning of the year. Although I have found some success in the effort, it has been minute progress through very small, barely imperceptible steps.
The guidance in these cards is to make sure that I don’t allow that frustration to take over and ruin what small progress I’ve made or convince me to give up. The smart play is to continue on and make sure that I’m being kind to myself along the way concerning the pace I’m moving at.
DECK USED: ZOMBIE TAROT
Gideon’s Challenge
Grocery Run
A little peek into my day
A Costco run
coming home to stay.
Lots of goodies
packed tubs and bags
my little cart
a champ to have.
Into the house
comes unpacking time.
Grab the rag
the bleach spray
and wipe it all down
then put it away.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Countdown to Samhain – Part 1
I discovered this little challenge on Instagram and thought I’d give it a go. Since it’s not demanding a card pull each day, I thought it might be fun to use it for a couple of my Pagan’s Perspective posts instead of adding it to my daily rotations.
1 Okay so this one might be just a lil’ weird since this is my blog and all. But… Hi, I’m Twist. I’m in my early 30s and live in the Pacific NW. I have a twin sister and a beautiful tortie cat named Luna. I am a farm hand, a jewelry designer, a gardener, a nature photographer, a fortune teller, a teacher and a student, a non-theist pagan, a survivor (of cancer among other things), and I am in a life-long battle with the inky black pit of clinical depression. I have an education in botany and horticulture, and a deep affinity for the earth and those things that grow from it.
2 My favorite thing about Samhain is the crisp feeling in the air. I love that the weather has changed and the scent in the air at this time of year is more than just that of a season’s change, but speaks to me of so many elements from the thinning of the veil to the wet and decay that autumn brings.
3 My favorite divination tools are cards. Sometimes tarot, sometimes playing cards, sometimes image only cards. But it’s cards. Always cards. It’s not the only divination tools that I use, but absolutely is my favorite.
4 Samhain is about religion, Halloween is about aesthetic. Samhain is about ancestors, Halloween is about spooky stuff. Samhain includes a dumb supper, Halloween includes trick or treating.
5 The page of cups is all about going after your heart’s desire. It’s about taking that pursuit seriously and using your creativity combined with action to not just claim what your heart wants, but express your emotions clearly and openly… essentially wearing your heart upon your sleeve. The Knight of Cups as the focus for this month is an indication that if I want things to go a certain way? It’s time to act upon those needs and heart’s desires to make sure that I am able to achieve what I want. I feel this is a direct play off the COTD I had the other day which indicated you must “start as you want to go forward”. In other words, don’t procrastinate in finding that grounding and balance with my life, responsibilities, and emotional growth. Do it.
6 Turkey. I mean, we’re talking seasonal food so, yeah. Oven roasted turkey.
7 Okay, so I’ve done this before on this blog and you can see my altar setup in that past post. Nothing really has changed concerning it’s set up other than the fact that the hand mirror in the photos for that post has been removed and replaced with my great-great-grandmother’s divination cards.
8 To be honest? I don’t really have a tarot card that I associate specifically with Samhain, or with any of the Sabbats for that matter. I tried to think about it and pick one out, but I guess that I do not see the Sabbats in that way… or see the cards in that way? It seems like an odd correlation to me. Now, I have a crapload of decks that are Samhain/Halloween based. But not a specific card.
9 I have created two of them for this month that are focused upon Samhain and the season. One is focused on the animal and plant correspondences of the season… and the second is focused on the plant and stone correspondences of the season.
10 The Ghost of Samhain Past is represented by the Devil and the Eight of Pentacles. These cards mark the path that I have taken in the past during this time of year.
The temptation to work myself to the bone and forsake sleep or any kind of self care in order to gear up for the holiday rush and be full prepared for what is to come. It indicates that that temptation is something that has become a bit of an addiction, and a habit that I am working to now break.
11 The Ghost of Samhain Present this year is represented by the Ten of Swords. This card speaks of coming to the end of a journey. Not just the end of any journey, but the end of a painful journey that has not been kind to me along the way. That journey is the habits of my past that are indicated in the cards pulled for the Ghost of Samhain Past. I am, in essence, working to kill those bad tendencies and the addictive pull to push myself too hard and treat myself too harshly. The Ghost of Samhain Present says that I have reached a point where I can put that behind me and start anew on a new path… but only if I am willing to pick myself up from the ashes and keep moving forward… not looking back.
12 The Ghost of Samhain Future is represented by the Six of Pentacles. As a card of generosity and economic balance, it’s appearance as the card of the Ghost of Samhain Future indicates that in riding out this change and using this time to find my grounding and my path, my balance and a better way forward, that the future ahead looks bright. Allowing for balance to take hold and the ability to sustain and flourish with this new way of doing things not just possible but absolutely probable. This card indicates that there is no need to worry about if I’m going to find a new balance that is healthier and more sustainable. It’s not just possible… but the most probable outcome looking at the trajectory forward.
13 A number of them, actually. My sister spend the time between Beltane and Samhain planning our Samhain ritual. The time between Mabon and Samhain is our favorite time of year and we participate in a number of spellcasting and rituals together during this time of year, culminating in our largest ritual of the year on Samhain. Included in this ritual is a dumb supper and respectful offering to our ancestors, as well as spellcraft that involves the releasing of stagnant energy and habits that are no longer useful us.
14 Green is slowly turning to oranges and browns. There’s a great deal of evergreen plants in my area of the world, but the deciduous trees and seasonal plants begin to lose their leaves, which causes the forest’s greenery to take on a darker shade as there are more trunks and branches and more old growth evergreens rather than the brighter green of the plants that do not keep leaves year round. Leaves start to leave their imprints upon pavement, stamping the pavement with the echos of their shapes as rain washes away the debris. By the end of the month, most trees that are going to lose their leaves will have lost them all, and the gray skies will be back in full force making each day “sweater weather” damp and comfy.
15 Yes. As I mentioned above, my sister and I will present offerings to our ancestors during Samhain, and invite them to join us in our dumb supper, setting places for them at the table and significant items for those we remember in the center of the table to make sure they know they are being remembered.
Don’t Dawdle Too Long
Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and was another of the guided meditations with interval timer for my piriformis stretches. I’m sort of wondering if the additional soreness I’m feeling lately isn’t just because I skipped a couple of days of stretching, but also because I have not been going in to the sports medicine doctor for adjustments since the spring.
The topic of today’s meditation was in taking a pause when reacting and responding to others to check if you are being kind. It focused upon the quote by Rumi that is posted in this blog post to the right. I’ve never heard this quote by Rumi before, but I can honestly say that it’s become one of my favorites. I work really hard to do this when I interact with others… although perhaps the “Is it necessary” gets skipped a bit more than it should. Still, I think it is a good guideline, and something as a whole that we all need to keep in mind more often.
Today’s draw is the Hanged Man, which is traditionally a representation of taking a step back to mull things over or see things from a new and different perspective. This involves letting go of your own preconceptions and opening your mind to a new view.
Although I see this in the imagery of today’s card, the card’s imagery brings up more questions than answers today. The reason for this is that the skeleton hangs in darkness beyond an opening in a brick wall. From that I begin to wonder just how long has that skeleton been hanging there? How did it get there? How was it discovered?
These questions bring me to what I feel is the message of today’s card. That is to say, the message here is about just how long you take in that “step back” to consider other perspectives. Yes…. making decisions requires seeing as much of the “whole picture” as possible. But if you get so wrapped up and focused on collecting data? Sometimes you end up missing the opportunities presented to you. It’s a delicate balance, making sure you don’t hang there in limbo so long that you end up walled in.
DECK USED: TAROT OF HAUNTED HOUSE
LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: I am in control of the path I walk by…
Reading Summary: …being generous and kind with your emotions (Queen of Cups), and not allowing your drive to be more and do better get in the way (King of Cups Rx). Instead, you need to make sure you’re taking time to rest and recover (Four of Swords) and focus on your balance (Two of Pentacles).
Note: The “to do more and be better” is more about the fact that the King of the same suit showed up beside the Queen of Cups, rather than the connotations of the suit he is in.
Take Away: The indication here is that it is not me in control of my path when I’m allowing those inner demons to drive me on the focus of “more more more”. It’s only when I take control of my life balance, be kind to myself, and allow myself the rest and restoration I need in that I am truly in control.
DECK USED: CURIO TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I embrace positive influences carried forward from my ancestors?
Reading Summary: Open your eyes (Two of Swords) and look forward at your progress concerning that emotional intelligence you’ve been working on (Queen of Cups). Inspire others with your kindness to believe in you and fight for you (Queen of Cups leading up into the Seven of Wands).
Note: The Queen of Cups came up reversed, but I think it is more to the point that she is supposed to be looking to the right (and the future), rather than the fact that the card actually means it’s reversed meaning.
Take Away: It is a conscious choice to reach for progress and embrace the lessons the Queen of Cups has to offer about your emotions and how they influence not just yourself but others as well.
For so long I have chosen to ignore my emotions and their influences. I learned this behavior from those in my past… and this new path I am on is guided by not just my desire to break the pattern but the spirit guides that are there to help guide me along the way.
DECK USED: THE DARK MANSION TAROT
#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I better embrace my Spirit Guide’s message from the 6th?
Reading Summary: Sometimes in moving on from what isn’t working for you (Eight of Fish), you find something better (Ten of Citadels). Learn to accept what you’re leaving behind isn’t worth keeping, and it’s worth the sludge and slog of the journey to move forward beyond it (The Hierophant).
Obviously this reading is based off the imagery and not the suits/card names. The “learn to” is a nod to the Hierophant’s traditional meaning, but otherwise this reading is imagery focused.
Take Away: When you abandon what is familiar, there’s always a bit of fear involved. That’s true even when what you’re leaving behind is something that doesn’t work for you or is unhealthy for you. It’s important, during these times, to remember that what you’re moving toward is worth slogging through all that worry and fear. As long as you keep moving, you’ll get there. Just don’t look back.
DECK USED: GRIM TAROCK
#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What does the Sun mean to me?
Reading Summary: Let’s use those swords (Eight of Swords/Averasboro Gallinipper) to make something great (Ten of Pentacles/Yowie), and let’s do it with enthusiasm (Knight of Wands/Gef the Mongoose).
Take Away: That critter in the Eight of Swords card is probably pretty blind to just how useful those sword legs can be, but with the help of the Yowie and Gef, goth of which have a far more positive outlook going on, it’s possible to turn what appears to be a dangerous handicap into a positive boon.
This is the energy I see in the Sun, that transformative energy that can turn things around and instill a positive or optimistic spin on something perceived to be negative.
